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Details
Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall
University of York
York
YO10 5DD
England
Tickets
Prices: £7.00-£20.00
Booking line: 01904 322439
Book Tickets
Programme
Niels Gade – String Octet, Op.17
Felix Mendelssohn – String Octet in E flat major, Op.20
Performers
Consone Quartet
Chiaroscuro Quartet
Other concerts in this Series (+)
Programme Note
In our first-ever rush-hour concert, two leading period-instrument ensembles join forces to present one of the most famous pieces of chamber music ever composed: Mendelssohn’s electrifying and sublime Octet in E-flat. Written as a birthday gift for his violin teacher Eduard Rietz when he was just sixteen years old, Mendelssohn’s Octet was the first of its kind, helping to redefine the form. In contrast to previous string octets, which were written for double quartet (two string quartets operating as independent units), Mendelssohn asked for all eight instruments in his work to act together as a single, integrated unit – similar to how all the instruments in a symphony orchestra combine to achieve a unified wall of sound.
The lesser-known Danish composer Niels Gade and Mendelssohn became close friends after the Danish government awarded Gade a travel grant to move to Leipzig following the success of his First Symphony in 1843. Mendelssohn conducted the premiere of the Symphony and subsequently hired Gade as an assistant conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and as a teacher at his newly founded Leipzig Conservatory. After Mendelssohn’s death in 1847, Gade was appointed director of the Conservatory and chief conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. His Octet of 1849 is commonly considered to be a tribute to Mendelssohn, embodying his stylistic influence.
Established in 2005, the Chiaroscuro Quartet has been hailed by Gramophone as ‘a trailblazer for the authentic performance of … chamber music’. Performing music of the Classical and early Romantic periods on gut strings and with historical bows, the group’s unique sound has been described by The Observer as ‘a shock to the ears of the best, most arresting kind’.
Formed at the Royal College of Music a decade later in 2015, the award-winning Consone Quartet became the first period-instrument string quartet to be selected as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. Praised by the late Roger Norrington for their ‘perfect intonation, tremendous attack and impeccable historical style’, the ensemble has deep ties to York, having won two prizes at the 2015 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition and remaining frequent performers both here at the University and at the National Centre for Early Music.
