Celebrating the theme of friendship in music, artistic director and violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen has announced the 2022 Two Moors Festival programme which includes pieces by the Schumanns, Schubert, Beethoven, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

The internationally-renowned festival takes place over nine days in October — on Dartmoor from Wednesday October 5 to Sunday October 9 2022, and on Exmoor from Thursday October 13 to Sunday, October 16.

Venues range from Exeter Cathedral to St Eustachius’ Church Tavistock, from Great Fulford, Dunsford to St Michael the Archangel’s Church, Chagford, from St Andrew’s Church Wiviliscombe to Dunster Tithe Barn, from All Saint’s Church Dulverton to St George’s Church, Dunster.

Since 2001, the Two Moors Festival has welcomed outstanding international artists and the rising stars of the next generation to perform for large and enthusiastic audiences in venues spread across Dartmoor and Exmoor.

The festival presents an artistic programme to rival many high-profile city-based events and has an international reputation for excellence way beyond its immediate physical reach. It attracts some of the most exciting performers in the world of the calibre only seen in large city venues.

Over the past 21 years, the festival has won widespread acclaim for innovative commissions of operas, song cycles and chamber pieces, and for its work with hundreds of children and adults from local communities.

It has also helped scores of young musicians and emerging professional artists to take the next step through its young musicians’ competition and residency programmes.

This year will see the return of the festival’s outreach programme into local primary and secondary schools – ‘Moor Music’.

Highlights of the 2022 Festival on Dartmoor include:

Performance of Schubert’s song cycles – Schubert’s Winterreise with Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu

Anniversary celebrations of 150 years for Ralph Vaughan Williams, and 400 years for Matthew Locke, in Exeter Cathedral, where he once carved his name

‘At the Schumanns’ three concerts will be held at the historic country house of Great Fulford, near Exeter

A family interactive concert with the Albion Quartet

And on Exmoor:

Celebrated author Michael Morpurgo will re-enact his best-selling book War Horse with Ben Murray, the original Songman from the National Theatre production

Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42 (arranged by Bill Thorp for voice and string quartet) with soprano, Anna Dennis and the Consone Quartet

National Opera Studio’s Gala concert

Young Musicians’ Competition Winners concert

Late Night Jazz with Alice Zawadski

Further visiting artists include I Fagiolini, Fretwork, the Orsino Ensemble, Jess Dandy and Elisabeth Brauss interspersed with some pre-concert talks from Laura Tunbridge from Oxford University and Katy Hamilton.

Tamsin Waley-Cohen, artistic director, said: ‘This year I have chosen the theme of “Friendship”.

‘The extended lockdowns and isolations that we have all experienced over these last two years have highlighted ever more indelibly how vital a lifeline our friendships are to us all.

‘John Donne said: “No man is an island”, and as usual, he knew what he was talking about. We are exploring this theme throughout the festival, visiting the home of the Schumanns’, looking at Beethoven, Mozart, and Schumann, Dvořák, Janáček, and Haas, as well as celebrating anniversaries of Vaughan-Williams and Matthew Locke.’

For more information go to the website – www.twomoorsfestival.co.uk