Sacconi Quartet with Alice Neary (’cello)

Anton Arensky: String Quartet in A minor Op. 35

Interval

Schubert: String Quintet D. 956

The Sacconi Quartet need no introduction to Wallingford audiences, having delighted us with their playing almost since their formation in 2001. Occasionally they bring other artists to collaborate in their music making and, in this concert, welcome ’cellist Alice Neary, who has a busy and varied career as a former member of the Gould Trio, current Principal ’Cello of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, recitalist, concerto soloist and teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Arensky’s quartet in A minor is highly unusual in its scoring, demanding a violin, viola and two ’cellos instead of the usual string quartet, thus radically altering the sonority of the ensemble. The quartet, written in 1894, was composed in memory of Tchaikovsky, who had died the previous year and incorporates motifs from the Russian Orthodox chant for the dead.

The presence of a string quartet and an extra ’cello in a chamber concert makes it almost unthinkable not to perform Schubert’s great C major string quintet, written in 1828 the final year of his life. His still-developing genius conjures up a wealth of expressive richness, perfectly formed and executed, making it perhaps the greatest chamber work since Beethoven.

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This concert is sponsored by Ben Andrews.