Sunday 17 September 3.00pm
£20.00 (18 and under free)
Book all 5 York Chamber Music Festival events in the same transaction and save £15.00
Venue: St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York

Festival Artists

John Mills, Jonathan Stone violins
Hélène Clément, Simone van der Giessen violas
Jonathan Aasgaard, Tim Lowe cellos

Boccherini String Sextet No.1 in E flat Major, Op. 23 G454

Dvořák String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48

Boccherini’s genius was that he invented in his string sextet a new musical genre (adding a second viola and cello to the standard string quartet). He discovered both the particular beauty of this lush string ensemble and also how to handle its combination of instruments. This was the first string sextet ever composed; nothing else like these in the Classical period. Op. 23 No.1 is a beautiful, forwarding thinking masterpiece.

The Dvořák sextet is also a first because it was the piece that brought the Czech composer to international fame. After its premiere in Berlin in November 1879 it was played within a matter of months hundreds of times across the globe. It is full of Czech character from melancholy to gypsy-like songs, a gentle lullaby and a rip-roaring conclusion. It was a smash hit! Come and hear why in the lovely surroundings of St Olave’s.

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