Royal Northern Sinfonia: Dvořák’s American Quartet
Ticket price
£16-£18
When
Northern Sinfonia is proud to be working in partnership with The Witham to offer four concerts as part of its 2023/24 season.
Concert Programme
Francois Devienne Bassoon Quartet in G minor Op. 73 No. 3 (18’)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Oboe Quartet in F major (15’)
Interval
George Finzi arr. Christian Alexander Five Bagatelles for Clarinet and String Quartet (15’)
Antonín Dvořák String Quartet No. 12 in F major Op. 96 ‘American’ (25’)
Sometimes you hear a piece of music and you’re impressed by the virtuoso display but maybe don’t feel anything – it doesn’t move you. Mozart’s Oboe Quartet is notable for being both a dazzling showcase for an oboist but also for evoking in the listener a wide range of feelings and emotions.
Francois Devienne must be one of the best kept secrets in music – an 18th century composer virtually unheard of until the 1960’s – perhaps being a contemporary of Mozart and Haydn meant he was just a little overshadowed. His Quartet is a wonderful vehicle for the soulful tones of the Bassoon, and we end the concert with Dvořák’s ‘American’ quartet, which evokes the wide open, expansive vistas of the ‘New World’.
Photo credit: Tynesight Photographic