Schumannfest // Eleanor & Gus

Songs by David Shire, Benjamin Britten, John Dowland, Joni Mitchel... and surprises

Eleanor Grant (vocals, double bass) and Gus McQuade (guitar) share a passion for bringing music to life in all its facets. They met while studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London - it quickly became clear that they shared an enthusiasm for interweaving the old with the new and making forgotten works sound new. Since their debut at the Wigmore Hall in 2023, they have performed all over the UK. With their debut album Seasons in Time (Deux-Elles), they honed their unmistakable tone between intimacy and stylistic openness. Eleanor and Gus are now making their European debut at the Schumannfest in Düsseldorf - with a programme that combines jazz and blues with original compositions and songs from their album. Between lyrical delicacy and rhythmic freedom, a multi-layered musical narrative emerges that effortlessly transcends boundaries.

A song only lasts a few minutes - and yet it can be immediately moving. This is exactly what the Schumannfest is all about: songs and music that tell stories and awaken emotions. Under the motto "HEIMATEN" we ask: What does home mean today? Is it a place - or rather a memory, a relationship, a voice, a sound?

From 6 June to 26 June 2026, Düsseldorf will become a city of song. In the Tonhalle and at special locations in the city, you can listen to concerts ranging from intimate song recitals to chamber music, jazz and unusual formats. Christoph and Julian Prégardien, father and son, open the festival with songs by Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert - music that sounds both familiar and new, personal and yet understandable for everyone. In the dialogue between Robert and Clara Schumann and contemporary voices, the festival shows how music can preserve, question or reinvent homelands. Those who get involved may recognise that they can find themselves in these songs.

https://www.tonhalle.de/veranstaltung/schumannfest/20076-eleanor-gus