Burton Bradstock Festival: Chamber Concert (Wednesday 13 August)

Richard Wagner Vorspiel und Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde arr. Max Knigge for accordion and string quartet
Ludwig von Beethoven Serenade in D major Op. 25
Erik Satie Gymnopédie No. 1 Lent et douloureux
Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F major M.35

The opening bars of Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde changed music forever. Lyrical and full of chromaticism, they capture perfectly the passion and ambiguity in the legend of a Cornish king and Irish princess. Beethoven’s Serenade is heard in an arrangement for flute, viola and guitar by his contemporary and fellow Vienna resident, Wenzel Matiegka. Inspired by an ancient Greek dance performed naked, Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies have an almost hypnotic beauty, although our musicians will be contractually obliged to remain fully clothed for the entire performance! Ravel’s String Quartet received a lukewarm response from critics in Paris and London on its debut. Despite that, it rapidly became a core work of the chamber music repertoire.