Sunday 15 November 2009 at 7.30pm
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP
Lendvai String Trio
J Cras: String trio
Martinu: String Trio No.1 (1923)
Mozart: Divertimento in E flat K563
"It's been a longstanding dream for us to play the Mozart Divertimento at Wigmore Hall. One of the great masterpieces of the chamber music repertoire, it was one of the first works we performed as a trio, and since then it has been a favourite in our programmes. Our relationship with the piece has grown and developed as we have grown as a trio.
In our quest to find rarely performed masterpieces, we were extremely excited about the discovery of the first string trio by Martinu in 2005. Having performed the other string trio at our last Wigmore Hall recital, we're very proud to be giving this piece its UK première at Wigmore Hall.
Looking into the time and circumstances in which Martinu wrote his first string trio, we came across the string trio by Jean Cras and decided to programme Martinu and Cras together in order show two composers who, although both French contemporaries, had their own very personal, distinctive style. In the work by Cras we can hear folk music influences: Eastern European and Balkan but also Celtic, especially in the last movement. Martinu was partly influenced by jazz and the new dances 'a la mode' in 1920s Paris, so these pieces provide a folky, jazzy contrast to the Wien-classicist music of Mozart, complementing each other perfectly."
Nadia, Ylvali and Marie - Lendvai String Trio
Tickets: £8 - £13
Box office tel: 020 7935 2141
or visit www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
“...Full of charm... an abundance of wit... gentle and intense... the musicians shone. Throughout the fluidity of their phrasing and the way that they balanced the work's Classical elegance and its emotional complexity were compelling.” The Strad, March 2008