Engegård Quartet
Sunday 21 April 6.30pm, Conway Hall, London, WC1R 4RL
This programme is the Engegård Quartet in a nutshell! The four quartets build upon the four pillars of the Norwegian group’s creative life. Mozart’s K589 sets the stage, following their acclaimed recording of all Mozart’s quartets. Bartók’s quartets have been an integral part of the Quartet’s repertoire throughout the last season, and the compact Third String Quartet is one of their favourites. The Norwegian singer and composer Maja Ratkje wrote ‘A Tale of Lead and Light’ for the Engegård in 2011, and this music offers a glimpse both into the composer’s sense of fear and sorrow following the terror attacks in Oslo that summer, and the hope and comfort she found in composing this quartet. Finally, Fanny Mendelssohn’s gorgeous Quartet in E flat is something the Quartet have been wanting to programme for a long time. The Quartet is working towards a festival devoted to both Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, 1-2-3 Mendelssohn, 8-10 November in Oslo.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quartet no.22 in B-flat major, K.589
Béla Bartók – String Quartet no.3, Sz.85
Ratkje Maja – A Tale of Lead and Light
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel – String Quartet in E flat major