Concert guitarist and composer Richard Durrant brings his 40th anniversary tour, The Art of Levitation, to Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake later this month.
Marking four decades as an independent soloist, the performance on Thursday, April 30, is part of a nationwide tour celebrating his career.
Raised in a working-class family in Brighton, Durrant’s path has been anything but conventional.
Struggling at school with undiagnosed autism and ADHD, he showed exceptional musical ability from an early age, later studying at the Royal College of Music and building a career on his own terms.
He said: “Music and the arts have helped me throughout my life. I’ve learned to harness some essential balancing forces and have begun to understand why music exists.”
The programme reflects the full span of his musical life, blending classical, folk and original works by composers including Bach, Scarlatti, Purcell, Barrios and Durrant, performed on a guitar made from 5,000-year-old English bog oak.
A special highlight of the evening sees Durrant perform on the guitar used by Julian Bream – one of the most influential classical guitarists of the 20th century – on his debut album, Julian Bream – Spanish Guitar Music (1956), playing Turina’s Fandanguillo – a piece Durrant himself performed at his own debut recital 40 years ago.
The title work, The Art of Levitation, is one of Durrant’s most recent compositions, released in February, alongside a film created with filmmaker Neil Pringle.
Durrant, who has cycled thousands of miles between concerts to reduce his environmental impact, continues to bring a uniquely personal and sustainable approach to touring.
He added: ”I am very much looking forward to returning to Keswick and sharing my music and musings with the wonderful audience at this spectacular venue on the shores of the beautiful Derwentwater.”
