The ECO Ensemble is made up of the celebrated principal players from the English Chamber Orchestra, and this concert includes the unusual ‘Schott’ concerto by featured festival composer, Aarre Merikanto, an incredibly talented musician who was always overshadowed in his own lifetime by Sibelius and his father, Oskar, one of the most versatile and popular musicians of his time. A trio of soloists (violin, clarinet and french horn) are joined by a string chamber group in this delightful work. The music of Beethoven is another recurring feature of the festival, here through his youthful Septet.