The incomparable beauty of the Music Room at the Royal Pavilion is the venue for four concerts this year but book quickly before they all sell out.

Tickets are £20 each and include a glass of wine at the interval and the opportunity to view the delights of the banqueting room and the kitchens. All concerts begin at 8pm.

The exuberant Florestan Piano Trio opens the series on May 6, with trios by Beethoven and Mendelssohn and the world premiere of a new work by John Casken which has been commissioned for the festival.

Pianist Paul Lewis plays a recital of works by Schubert including Moments Musicals and two Sonata in A (D 537 and 959) on May 13.

Lewis, just back from a tour with the Halle Orchestra under Mark Elder, sprang to prominence in the World Piano Competition in London. He is described as having a formidable technique.

Your musical ear will travel back 300 years on May 15 when Charivari Agreable return to Brighton with the sound of court and church from 17th-Century Europe.

This Oxford-based group features harpsichord, violins and guitars plus tenor Rodrigo del Pozo.

The series ends on May 23, with the Belcea and Castagneri quartets who met in Australia in 1996 and became friends and collaborators.

The Belcea, from Britain, will perform Schubert's Rosamunde while the French Castagneri will play Chausson's Quartet opus 21.

In the second half, the quartets will merge to perform Mendelssohn's Octet in E flat.