Beethoven to Boulez

James Clark violin
Cerys Jones violin
Ruth Gibson viola
Rachel Roberts viola
Bjørg Lewis cello
Adrian Brendel cello
Tim Horton piano

Haydn String Quartet in D minor, op. 42 (12 mins)
Boulez 12 Notations for piano (10 mins)
Webern Three Little Pieces for cello and piano, op. 11 (4 mins)
Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 5, op. 102/2 (20 mins)
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Schubert String Quintet in C major (50 mins) Jones, Clark, Roberts, Brendel, Lewis

The curtain comes down on this season’s concert series with a packed programme that juxtaposes Boulez with Webern before placing Beethoven alongside Schubert. A typically stunning group of Plush Ensemble musicians open with a joyful Haydn quartet and close in the Plush tradition of performing Schubert’s finest chamber accomplishment, his String Quartet in C major.

Open Rehearsal: Plush Ensemble

James Clark violin
Cerys Jones violin
Rachel Roberts viola
Bjørg Lewis cello
Adrian Brendel cello

Join us for this relaxed afternoon rehearsal, where accomplished musicians prepare for their evening performance of Schubert’s beloved late work, his String Quintet in C major.

The piece is sometimes called the “Cello Quintet” because it is scored for a standard string quartet plus an extra cello instead of the extra viola. It’s a Plush tradition for this piece to close out the festival: hear our musicians fine-tuning it in forensic fashion!

Lunchtime Concert

James Clark violin
Cerys Jones violin
Ruth Gibson viola
Rachel Roberts viola
Bjørg Lewis cello
Adrian Brendel cello
Tim Horton piano

Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 1, op. 5/1
(25 mins)
Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht, op. 4 (30 mins)

Transport yourself to Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night” with this lunchtime concert, featuring a young composer exploring a late romantic sound world. His early masterpiece Verklärte Nacht, a sublime sextet penned before his departure into serialism, broke new ground by fusing the distinct motivic and harmonic languages of Wagner and Brahms.

Schoenberg is preceded by the first of Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas with moments of pianistic virtuosity and joyful high-register cello scoring.

Beethoven to Berg

James Clark violin
Cerys Jones violin
Ruth Gibson viola
Rachel Roberts viola
Bjørg Lewis cello
Adrian Brendel cello
Tim Horton piano

Berg Piano Sonata, op. 1 (11 mins)
Webern Langsamer Satz, 1905 (10 mins)
Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 4, op. 102/1 (15 mins)
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Brahms Piano Quartet no. 2, op. 26 (50 mins)

All five of Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas are performed throughout our September weekend, giving a glimpse into every era of his life. His two-movement fourth sonata, among the first works of his “late” period, is preceded by music from the early careers of Berg and Webern, whose motivic origins can be traced back to the master. Beethoven’s influence is more apparent still in Brahms’ majestic and assured Second Piano Quartet.