13 January 2019

Debussy & Mozart Favourites

Pixels Ensemble

Debussy Cello Sonata
Mozart Flute Quartet in D K285
Debussy Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Françaix Quintet for flute, harp and string trio
Debussy Violin Sonata
Mozart Piano Quartet in G minor K478

This is a programme that ranges from the sensual to the sublime. It's performed by a versatile and flexible ensemble which includes some of the cream of London-based musicians.  

Marking the centenary of the death of Debussy, the music includes his three late sonatas in which the dying composer defiantly upheld the French tradition in time of war. These are contrasted with two Mozart favourites.

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27 January 2019

Haydn Beethoven & Fanny Mendelssohn

Consone String Quartet

Haydn Quartets in D minor op 42 & op 103
Beethoven Quartet in F op 18 no 1
Fanny Mendelssohn Quartet in E flat

This young prize-winning quartet is dedicated to exploring and recreating the sound-worlds of the Classical and early Romantic string quartet repertoire through period instrument performance.  

The Consone bring familiar repertoire as well as the lesser known. These include Haydn's last quartet and a work by Felix Mendelssohn's highly talented sister. 'The players know how to enjoy themselves, they clearly know that Haydn did too'. [Wigmore Hall concert review in 'The Strad']

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24 February 2019

Mozart & Brahms Clarinet Quintets

Endymion

Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A K581
Martinů Three Madrigals for violin and viola
Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor op 115

Endymion and their superb clarinettist Mark van de Wiel are no strangers to Oxford's music lovers. They perform two much-loved chamber works for clarinet and strings.  

Martinů's approachable but distinctive chamber music should be heard more often. His Three Madrigals for violin and viola were inspired by Mozart's Duos and they draw on the Bohemian-Moravian folk themes and dances of the composer's roots.

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3 March 2019

Schubert Trout Quintet

Frith Piano Quartet

Hummel Piano Quintet in E flat op 87
Beethoven Piano Quartet in E flat op 16
Schubert Piano Quintet in A D667 The Trout

The splendid (Benjamin) Frith Piano Quartet with John Tattersdill, bassist, in a programme of pure enjoyment. 

We all know the Trout Piano Quintet by Schubert, but how many of us know the piece which prompted its composition, the E flat Piano Quintet by the most popular composer of the time, Johann Nepomuk Hummel? Between this interesting pairing we'll have the delight of Beethoven’s Opus 16 Piano Quartet.

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 PAST CONCERTS

25 November 2018

Beethoven Septet & Schubert Octet

Ensemble Mirage

Beethoven Septet in E flat op 20
Schubert Octet D803

Always on the look-out for the best of the new, we are delighted to bring to Oxford Ensemble Mirage. We can expect splendid performances of some of the most enjoyable music in the repertoire.  

Ensemble Mirage was founded by the clarinettist Matthew Scott and the violist Ugne Tiskute. In these pieces we will hear melody and the pungent timbres of wind and string instruments dancing and singing together, brought to us in all its freshness by these brilliant young musicians.

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11 November 2018

Tákacs String Quartet

Mozart Mendelssohn & Shostakovich

Mozart Quartet in G K387
Shostakovich Quartet no 4
Mendelssohn Quartet in F minor op 80

It's a fair bet that any lover of chamber music will list the Tákacs String Quartet  amongst the world's finest ensembles so we're proud to be able to include them in our 120th season, and with what a programme!  

This well-known Mozart quartet is another of those he dedicated to Haydn. Shostakovich's Fourth Quartet incorporates Jewish folk influences - it had to be hidden away until it was safe for performance. The Mendelssohn F minor Quartet journeys in a darker world than his audience expected but we now know it as his late masterpiece.

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7 October 2018

Mozart Beethoven & Szymanowski

Allegri String Quartet

Mozart Quartet in C major K465 Dissonance
Szymanowski Quartet no 2
Beethoven Quartet op 127

Founded in 1953 and over the years refreshed with the very best musicians, the Allegri has become an integral part of British musical life. Programmed are two of the greatest quartets in the repertoire, sandwiching a lesser known masterpiece of the 20th century. 

Mozart's Dissonance quartet, one of six dedicated to Haydn, is, after the brief 'dissonant' introduction, one of his most cheerful chamber works. Szymanowski's Second Quartet is a personal summing-up by a still underestimated master: the first of the three movements is highly impressionistic and the last two derived from Polish folk music. Beethoven' opus 127 is the first of his celebrated late quartets, a work of significance not only within that context but also in the ongoing development of the quartet oeuvre.

Programme notes for this concert

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