13/05/2021
From England to Eastern Europe
This programme comprises two early works and one swansong emanating from three composers who left an indelible mark on 20th Century music. The quintessentially English, yet mystic, work by Herbert Howells not only has a ‘vocal’ quality (as one might expect from a supreme master of choral music) but is also ground-breaking. Hungarian folk music and rhythms infuse Bartok’s youthful, colourful Piano Quintet, a fascinating blend of old and new, mercifully rescued from obscurity. Between these two compositions will be heard Shostakovich’s final work, one of resignation rather than unbearable sadness, completed shortly before his death: dark, though serene, and atmospheric to the core, it makes the clearest reference in the closing Adagio to Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata.
Christian Blackshaw piano,
Maya Iwabuchi violin
Josef Špaček violin
Máté Szücs viola
Bruno Delepelaire cello
Matthew Hunt (clarinet)
PROGRAMME
Herbert Howells Rhapsodic Quintet for Clarinet & Strings, op. 31
Shostakovich Sonata for Viola and Piano, op. 147
Bartók Piano Quintet

Tickets: £20
Students full-time education: Free

Tickets: £20
Students full-time education: Free