Conwy Classical Music Festival - THE FESTIVAL LECTURE

In 18th and 19th century Wales, the sound of the triple harp was inseparable from the experience of travel. For visitors following the tourist trail, the national instrument provided a constant and evocative soundtrack.

Beyond the romantic image lies a rich social history: professional itinerant harpers who earned their living by performing for visitors, members of the gentry and local communities. Glimpses of this world survive in travellers' journals, sketches and letters , as well as in the harp repertoire itself.

In this engaging hour of music and storytelling, Maximilian Ehrhardt and Rhian Davies invite the audience to step back in time. Through live performance and vivid historical accounts, they explore the lives of Wales's harpers, from the celebrated harpers of Conwy, led by the blind John Smith, to the Llangollen harper whose playing famously left Felix Mendelssohn nursing a toothache

24/7/26 3pm-4pm