We are pleased to announce a series of two classical music concerts taking place in conjunction with the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime and Live in Concert series. On Tuesday 27th March we welcome both The Escher String Quartet and Elisabeth Leonskaja to the Assembly Rooms in Bath to perform works written by Schubert.
The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its individual sound, unparalleled artistry and unique cohesiveness. The ensemble takes its name from Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher and draws inspiration from the artist’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole. They are one of the BBC’s ‘New Generation Artists’ for 2010-2012, a scheme that exists to nurture young musical talent.
Their lunchtime programme opens with Schubert’s String Trio in B Flat, an incomplete composition written in his nineteenth year, which demonstrates his youthful sparkle alongside his respect for the music of the Viennese masters. In contrast his String Quartet in A Minor, composed in his later years, seems almost a beautiful elegy for his lost youth. Hauntingly melancholic, it earns its nickname from the beginning of the Second Movement as it is based on a theme from the incidental music he had recently written for the play Rosamunde.
Elisabeth Leonskaja is thought of as one of the most celebrated pianists of our time. Her charismatic, passionate and intelligent playing has gained her international acclaim, and over the years she has been recognised as a well-nigh unsurpassable Schubert specialist.
Here she will be performing Schubert’s last two Piano Sonatas, composed during the final year of his life. Neglected during the 19th Century, it was only around the centenary of Schubert’s death that these pieces began to receive serious critical attention and acclaim. They are now regarded as essential works of the classical piano repertoire.
These performances will be broadcast live by BBC Radio 3 in the Radio 3 Live in Concert & Lunchtime Concert strand. Tickets for both the Lunchtime and Evening Concert are available now from Bath Box Office website or by calling 01225 463362.