The Cathedral of The Isles in Millport hosts a special trio of concerts on the weekend of 29th to 31st August.

These which will feature musicians attending the second “Isle of Cumbrae Summer Music”, a residential course for classical pianists and string players which aims to refresh and refine the skills of players of all ages, both professional and amateur, under the guidance of outstanding performers and teachers.

The course, which runs from 26th August, is based at the Cathedral and adjacent College of the Holy Spirit, chosen by the course director, pianist Gusztáv Feny�‘;, as an ideal location - inspiring, tranquil and removed from the distractions of everyday life, while easily accessible and having excellent facilities.

For the opening concert at 8pm on Friday 29th August, audiences will be privileged to hear the internationally-acclaimed, young Hungarian ‘cellist, Ágnes Kállay, making her first appearance in Scotland. The recipient of many international prizes and awards, both as soloist and chamber musician, Ágnes Kállay has performed at festivals worldwide, including the USA’s famous Tanglewood Festival, and worked with distinguished musicians such as John Williams, Michael Tilson Thomas and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos. She is also a professor at the celebrated Liszt Academy and Bartók Conservatory in Budapest and has taught at New York’s Long Island Conservatory.

The programme for her Scottish début recital is an exciting mix of classical and twentieth-century works, incorporating Beethoven’s last ‘cello sonata, the popular Fantasy Pieces of Schumann, an early masterpiece by the Hungarian composer, Zoltan Kodály, and a rare opportunity to hear a late work by the Russian composer, Alfred Schnittke.

She will be accompanied by Gusztáv Feny�‘;, who will give the second concert on Saturday 30 August at 3pm. A fellow-Hungarian who has lived in Scotland for many years, Gusztáv Feny�‘; is well-known for his marathon solo piano cycles of Beethoven, Chopin and Shostakovich, as well as numerous chamber music performances at his former festival in the Scottish Borders.

He offers a delightfully diverse programme, ranging across the pianistic landscape from Mozart and Schubert to Hungarian dances of Liszt and Bartók, pausing en route to conjure up the richly-evocative piano-scapes of some of Claude Debussy’s Préludes.

The third and final concert on Sunday 31st August, in the regular Cathedral summer music slot at 3pm, is given by the course participants themselves, who will present that enticing blend of variety and surprise in a miscellany of works for violin, ‘cello and piano.

But the indispensable partner in all live concerts is the venue itself, and here both audiences and performers are treated to a real gem: despite its Cathedral status, it is an exquisite, intimate setting, seating just 70 people, hidden away amidst peaceful grounds, and providing a near-perfect acoustic. The three concerts are at 8pm on Friday (finishing in time to catch the bus connecting with the late ferry) and at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for Friday and Saturday are £10, with a £5 concession for students, under-18s and unemployed, and will be on sale at the door. The Sunday concert is free, with invited donation to the Cathedral Musical Resources Fund. Seats for all three can be reserved with Music-Makers tel. 0141 339 2708 or, from 26 August, on 07765 560578.

Full information about the concerts, performers, venue etc. is available at www.cumbrae-summermusic.co.uk