Henleaze Concert Society: Postcard from Florence
Saturday, 25 January, 2020, 7:30pm at Trinity-Henleaaze URC Waterford Road, Henleaze, Bristol BS9 4BT
Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence Op.70
Mozart String Quintet in G minor K.516
Pre-concert talk with David Bednall at 6.45pm
Tchaikovsky’s string sextet Souvenir de Florence was written following a trip to Italy, during which the composer visited the historic city and sketched one of the work’s principal themes there.
The music exhibits an abundance of Russian passion and fervour, combined with Italian lyricism and brilliance. Scored for two violins, two violas and two cellos, it is symphonic in its sonority and texture, with plenty of opportunity to display the players’ virtuosity. Mozart’s String Quintet is written in his ‘tragic’ key of G minor and is scored for string quartet plus a second viola, giving a rich and melancholic quality to the texture.