Deutsche Selektion
Saturday, May 17, 2008 20:00
Dom Pedro V Theatre
30
Pinchas Zukerman and Gu Chen, Violin/ Violins
Zhang Liguo and Wu Xiaodi, Violas
Amanda Forsyth, Cello
Programme:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Divertimento for Violin, Viola and Cello in E-flat major, K. 563
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847): String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat minor, op. 87
Drawing on his incredible genius for music, Mozart tackled the notoriously difficult string trio genre with grace and ease. One can scarcely believe there are only three musicians involved, due to his compositional skill and the virtuosic demands he places on the players. By contrast, Mendelssohn writes for a quartet "plus one". This, his second and final work for string quintet, dates from 1845 just two years prior to the sadly premature death that befell both him and Mozart in their thirties. The piece is starkly dramatic from the opening bars, driven by an emotional intensity that is the exception rather than the rule in late Mendelssohn.
Duration: approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, no interval