Programmes:
Programmes for 2009 - 200th centenary of Mendelssohn's birth and Haydn's death
'Every moment dies a man, every moment one is born' (Tennyson)
Programme 1
Haydn Op. 77 No. 2
Mendelssohn Op. 13
Beethoven Op. 74 'The Harp' (composed 1809)
Programme 2
Haydn Op. 77 No.1
Mendelssohn Op. 12
Beethoven Op. 95 (composed 1810):
'Late Works'
Haydn Op. 103
Mendelssohn Op. 80
Schubert Great G major
Octet Programmes
The Octets
Mendelssohn Octet Op. 20
Spohr Double Quartet
Mendelssohn and the Bach Revival
Mendelssohn Octet Op. 20
Mendelsohn early fugues
Bach - fugues from 'The Art of Fugue' for various combinations of the 8 of us
Dramatic readings from Eduard Devrient's account of Mendelssohn's 'passion' for the Matthew Passion
Devrient was a friend of Mendelssohn, an Opera singer and later theatre director who was also the author of a history of German histrionic art. Unsurprisingly therefore, his account of Mendelssohn's 'ardent longing' to possess and then to put on a performance of Bach's Matthew Passion is highly coloured and Romantic.
Other programmes (not specifically for 2009)
Italian Programme
Boccherini Op. 33 No 3
Cherubini/Donizetti quartets
Wolf 'Italian Serenade'
Puccini 'Crisantemi'
The Quartet in England 1780-90
Selection of repertoire including Haydn, plus composers whose works are known to have been performed in England, including John Marsh, Pierre Vachon, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel, Felice Giardini, and Dieudonné-Pascal Pieltan. This programme was put together with the help of Dr. Meredith McFarlane and formed the basis of an event discussing the early string quartet in England at the Royal College of Music.
RDR