Getting to the top of the classical music profession is tough for anyone, even the most talented.

To do it having been born with no arms to a non-musical family is nothing short of extraordinary.

But that’s the inspirational story of French Horn player Felix Klieser, who is soon to appear at this year’s Machynlleth Festival.

Felix loved the French Horn from an early age, being only 5 years old when he took his first lessons.

His teachers initially suggested he try other instruments, but Felix was determined, saying ‘if it’s not possible to learn the French horn, then I will play nothing’.

He developed an unusual but very effective technique - using his left foot to press the valves.

“85 percent of playing is about your lips, about the air stream, about controlling everything” he says. “This is the main thing in playing the French horn – and using the keys is not that difficult, I would say.”

His career trajectory since those early days has been meteoric - releasing his debut album in 2013 and in 2014 being awarded the prestigious ECHO Klassik award. In 2021 he performed in the UK for the first time and in 2023 he made his debut at what is maybe the world’s most famous classical music festival - the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall, getting rave reviews for his ‘stylish’ and ‘zesty’ playing.

Now he’s coming to Wales - with a performance at the Machynlleth Festival. This is a chance to

hear him play in an intimate setting, accompanied by the brilliant Welsh pianist, the Anglesey-born Jâms Coleman, in a relaxed hour-long lunchtime concert of music by composers including Schumann and Beethoven.

The Festival runs from 17-24 August, with a mix of Welsh, World and Classical music, administered as part of MOMA, Machynlleth’s museum of modern art.