Lunchtime Concert

Thursday 6th April 2023, 1pm
Tabernacle Chapel, The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1AJ

Lowri Porter, Violin | Rebecca Totterdell, Violin
David BaMaung, Viola | Rosalind Acton, Cello
The quartet will be joined in the second half by Alicja Kozak, Cello

Korngold: String Quartet No.2, Op.26 [25′]
Interval [15′]
Schubert: String Quintet, D.956, Op.163 [57′]

With Spring soon upon us, the Ceridwen Quartet make a welcome return on Thursday 6th April 2023 at the Tabernacle Chapel, in the heart of bustling Cardiff City Centre.

Join them at 1pm for this lunchtime concert featuring two stunning works from the chamber repertoire sure to blow away the cobwebs of a long Winter, and usher in the energy of the new season.

The first half of this lunchtime concert will feature Korngold‘s joyful String Quartet No.2, Op.26. A work full of the final bloom of late-romanticism of inter-war Europe. The music throughout nods to old Vienna, the famous waltzes of Johann Strauss II and the lyricism of Korngold’s contemporary Richard Strauss.

The quartet are thrilled to present this work in concert ahead of a major recording project of all three of Korngold’s string quartets over the next few years with Luminate Records.

After a short interval, the second half will see the quartet joined by Alicja Kozak, recently appointed Sub-Principal Cello with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra here in Cardiff. Together they will perform Schubert‘s epic masterwork, his String Quintet in C Major, D956, Op.163.

Schubert’s final completed work, before his untimely death at just 31 years of age brings all his signature elements together in one work. Featuring his innate melodic lyricism, the inescapable propulsion of rhythmic drive, his nods to Bach’s counterpoint and intertwining voices, and the blossoming of styles from the late classical firmly into the romantic era.

Aware of his fading health, still in grief for the recently departed Beethoven, and keen to secure his legacy among the pantheon of greats – Schubert poured all his heart and craft into his final works, including this quintet. It stands alongside Beethoven’s Op.131 quartet (played at Schubert’s deathbed at his request) as one of the greatest achievements in the chamber repertoire.

A concert not to be missed, we very much hope you can join us!

Tickets available here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/ceridwenquartet