Goldberg Ensemble 25 August 2008
We are delighted to welcome the Goldberg Ensemble to perform in St Gauderic church. Led by Malcolm Layfield, Head of Strings at Royal Northern College of Music, the Ensemble is a flexible group of professional musicians who have established a strong reputation both in England and in France, as well as performing in other parts of the world.
For a flavour of their achievements, visit their website:
www.goldbergensemble.com
The Ensemble which will be performing at St Gauderic is a string sextet which is on tour in southern France in August 2008. They have chosen three of the most renowned works in the chamber music repertoire, by Mozart, Brahms and Strauss. With the warm, clean acoustics of the church at St Gauderic, this performance is not to be missed.
W.A Mozart (1756-1791) Quintet No 2 in C minor K406(516b)
This work, completed in 1787, was a rework of an earlier work, but it shows all the richness of Mozart’s mature compositions, the mastery of musical forms, the inventiveness of melody and the intensity of development. It consists of 4 movements:
1: Allegro
2: Andante
3: Menuetto in canone
4: Allegro
J.Brahms (1833-1897) Sextet No 1 in B flat major Opus 18
The first performance of this quartet by a sextet formed by Joseph Joachim in 1860 was an immediate success. It shows the influence of Beethoven on the young Brahms, but also displays his own romantic elegance. It consists of 4 movements:
1. Allegro, ma non troppo
2. Andante, ma moderato
3. Scherzo. Allegro molto
4. Rondo
R. Strauss (1864-1949) Sextet from Capriccio Opus 85
Strauss’s last opera, Capriccio, composed in 1940-41, involved the rivalry in love of a young composer and a young poet for the heroine, symbolising the tension between words and music. This sextet opens the opera and is the offering of the composer in a single movement luscious harmony and sweeping melodies.