Concerts
The Sacconi and Navarra Quartets
Monday 15th March 2010 at 7.30pm
Navarra Quartet, Sacconi Quartet
R. Strauss Sextet from Capriccio
Brahms Sextet in B flat major Op. 18
Mendelssohn Octet in E flat major Op. 20
6.30 – pre-concert talk: members of the Navarra and Sacconi Quartets in conversation with Gabor Takacs-Nagy
‘Totally at one with the music and each other, these talented young players [the Navarra Quartet] are on their way to top acclaim in the chamber music world.’ ESTA Magazine
‘The Sacconi met these challenges with complete assurance, immersing themselves at the deepest levels, yet putting the music across with a freshness and simplicity that completely absorbed the listener.’ The Scotsman
When two of the UK’s most exciting young string quartets first came together last year for a sell-out concert at the Wigmore Hall, the results were extraordinary. We are therefore delighted to welcome the Navarra and Sacconi Quartets, once again united for our very special final concert of the season.
Since making their successful MCCS debut in 2003, the multi-prize-winning Navarra Quartet has gone from strength to strength. No less a figure than the late Mstislav Rostropovich described it as ‘a most wonderful group of musicians.’ The Sacconi Quartet has also established itself as one of Britain’s leading ensembles and has been praised for its ‘enthralling and engaging performances’ (Musical Opinion). As you’ll witness, the two groups share a remarkable and quite infectious musical chemistry.
‘No teenage work proclaims its composer’s genius more conspicuously than Mendelssohn’s Octet, whose youthful verve, brilliance and perfection make it one of the miracles of 19th-century music’ is biographer Conrad Wilson’s view of this masterpiece, a work written when the composer was a mere sixteen. Brahms’s genial and expansive Sextet in B flat follows the Sextet from Strauss's last opera, Capriccio, where it functions as a prelude, its gentle serenity establishing the opera’s character with luxurious warmth and soaring radiance.