Details
Christ Church
35 Darley Avenue
West Didsbury
Manchester
M20 2ZD
England
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven – String Quartet in A major, Op.18 no.5
Leoš Janáček – String Quartet no.1 'Kreutzer Sonata'
Ludwig van Beethoven – String Quartet in E flat major, Op.127
Performers
Nicholas Ward – Leader / Director
Simon Gilks – Violin
Richard Muncey – viola
Cara Berridge – Cello
Northern Chamber Orchestra
Programme Note
Continuing NCO’s Beethoven 250 celebrations we have two of his string quartets set off by one of Janacek’s masterpieces from his old age – quartet no 1, the Kreutzer Sonata – passionate gestures alongside vigorous Czech folk dances. Op 18 no 5 in A is very much a homage to Mozart and specifically his own quartet in A K464. Op 127 in E flat, first of his late quartets, has an imposing opening, stretching the sonority of four string players. The slow movement is arguably Beethoven’s greatest set of variations while the finale dissolves into an extraordinary ethereal coda.