© Andy Holdsworth photography
© Andy Holdsworth photography
(Sat 7 Oct 2023 8.00pm Little Missenden Church)
Matthew Denton, Michelle Fleming violins Eoin Schmidt-Martin viola Emma Denton cello Clare Hammond piano
David Matthews String Quartet no10 op84; Cap Griz-Nez for solo piano; Piano Quintet op92
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet op59 no2
Programme Notes (also available free at concert)
David Matthews is a multi-faceted composer with 10 symphonies, numerous other orchestral works, chamber pieces and songs to his credit. His series of 17 String Quartets (and counting) is one of the most distinguished British sets since Britten’s. The Festival commissioned and premiered the 6th Quartet and over the years has given a platform to many of his works. The 10th String Quartet is a shortish piece based largely on Australian birdsong while the Piano Quintet – lyrical and dance-like throughout – was an engagement present to his then fiancée.
By the time Beethoven wrote his three Razumovsky Quartets op59, he was well into his maturity as a composer and had emerged from the shadow of Haydn and Mozart. Judged radical by audiences in 1806, Beethoven’s reaction was that the quartets were meant for ‘a later age’. Even now, they’re not easy to perform: as the Takács Quartet put it – “we feel like tennis players forced out of position, obliged to draw on our physical and mental resources to raise our game.”
The versatile and award-winning Carducci String Quartet has performed everything from brand new quartets, classic works by Haydn, complete Shostakovich cycles, and has also partnered with folk-rock icon Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. The Quartet has released a bevy of acclaimed recordings on their own label, Carducci Classics, as well as Signum Classics, and their Naxos recordings of Philip Glass Quartets have had over six million plays on Spotify. Performing over 90 concerts worldwide each year, the Quartet also run an annual Carducci Festival in Highnam, Gloucester and are Quartet in Residence at Dean Close School in Cheltenham, where they teach young string players and coach chamber music.
“…athletic, upfront performances, clear in texture, forthright in tone and bold in articulation” Gramophone
Image ©Philip Gatward
Acclaimed as a “pianist of extraordinary gifts” (Gramophone) and “immense power” (The Times), Clare Hammond is recognised for the virtuosity and authority of her performances. In 2016, she won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ‘Young Artist Award’ in recognition of outstanding achievement. Contemporary music is at the core of Clare’s work. She has given over 50 world premieres, including those of major works by Arlene Sierra, Robert Saxton and Michael Berkeley, and her discography includes world premiere recordings of over 20 works.
Online booking is managed by TicketSource. This event may be booked from the Tickets link on this page but, when booking for multiple events, it may be more convenient to use our Little Missenden Festival page on TicketSource.
Sat 7 Oct 2023 8.00pm
Little Missenden Church
Online booking is managed by TicketSource. This event may be booked from the Tickets link on this page but, when booking for multiple events, it may be more convenient to use our Little Missenden Festival page on TicketSource.