at lunch three

NICHOLAS DANIEL oboeJACQUELINE SHAVE, MIRANDA DALE violinsCLARE FINNIMORE, DOROTHEA VOGEL violas CAROLINE DEARNLEY cello

FINZI Interlude for oboe and string quartet 8 minsBRIAN ELIAS Oboe Quintet (world premiere tour) 19 minsMOZART String Quintet in C minor, K406/516b 23 mins

LONDON WIGMORE HALLWednesday 19 April 2017, 1pm

NORWICH ST ANDREW’S HALLFriday 21 April 2017, 1pm

CAMBRIDGE WEST ROAD CONCERT HALLTuesday 25 April 2017, 1pm

Would patrons please ensure that mobile phones, watch alarms, and any other electrical devices that may be audible are switched off.

No recording or photography is allowed in the auditorium.

introduction

Some musical marriages are built to last. At atime when ensembles seem to be growingincreasingly eclectic and the juxtaposition ofinstruments ever more unusual, it is comforting to see that composers still findrich sources of inspiration in the tried-and-tested combinations of old. The pairing ofoboe and strings dates back centuries, thedeep, mellow tone of the oboe finding aremarkable kinship with the warmth of stringinstruments, a pairing unlike anything withinthe woodwind family itself. In the Baroque,composers such as Bach and Vivaldi apparently heard such a harmonious blendbetween the two soundworlds that parts written for oboe or violin were often seen asinterchangeable.

Gerald Finzi seemed to understand the pairingof oboe and strings well. He wrote just onework for oboe, the Interlude for oboe andstring quartet, but it proved so successful thatit has since become established as one of themajor pieces of the oboe repertoire. Firstsketched in 1933 after Finzi was encouragedby friends to compose an oboe concerto orsuite, the Interlude became a free-formstand-alone work in its own right, of whichFinzi was justly proud. 'There's some decentmusic in the Oboe Interlude', he wrote to hisfriend Howard Ferguson, 'and a certain amountof rant, which I had to stick in to fill things upwhen I got rather rushed towards the end'. Inspite of Finzi's rather disparaging remarks, it ishard to pinpoint anything 'rant-like' in this elegant, cinematic soundscape. A hushedopening for strings alone eventually leads tothe oboe's understated entrance – a hypnotic,sustained melody that quickly grows increasingly impassioned. Coursing betweenfolk-like simplicity and heartfelt improvisatorymaterial, the Interlude expands into a work ofstartling breadth and variety, as rich in detailas anything he composed for full orchestra.The dialogue between oboe and strings, too, isdeeply personal, as though each were uncovering a series of memories and reflectingon them in turn.

gerald finzi (1901–1956)

Interlude for oboe and string quartet (1933–1956)

explore at lunch

Pre-concert talkLondon, 12.15pm

Dr Kate Kennedy talks to Brian Elias abouthis new work. This talk will be released as apodcast following the concert, available viawww.brittensinfonia.com

Post-concert eventCambridge, 2.15pm

Brian Elias discusses his new work withNicholas Daniel and Cambridge University’sTim Watts.

brian elias (b.1948)

Oboe Quintet (2016)

When Nicholas Daniel asked me to write anoboe quintet for him, I replied immediatelythat I would rather write an oboe quartet; theclarity and lightness of the Mozart oboe quartet was very much in my mind and I wasconcerned about the added density a secondviolin might bring to the piece. Nicholas wasadamant, and so I accepted the challenge ofwriting for a combination for which there ishardly any other repertoire. I did not want totreat the string quartet as a quasi-orchestralaccompaniment (that would have been tooeasy!); although the oboe predominates andleads the musical development to a largeextent, the strings, including the second violin,play more than just a supporting role. Themain ideas for the work, both melodic andharmonic, are stated in the first few bars andthe rest of the work develops organically fromthis material. Motifs, melodies and harmoniesare 'recollected' throughout the piece, often innew contexts, to provide a sense of unity.

There are five movements played without abreak (fast, slow, fast, slow, fast), the lastbeing an extended coda. The first movementis moderately fast and is in a concertantestyle. It is followed by a slow and lyrical movement, and then a scherzo. The fourthmovement is also slow, and the final section,the coda, returns to the music of the scherzo,gradually slowing down to a quiet and reflective conclusion.

The Oboe Quintet was commissioned byWigmore Hall with the support of AndréHoffmann, President of the FondationHoffmann, a Swiss grant-making foundation.

© Brian Elias

wolfgang amadeus mozart (1756–1791)String Quintet in C minor K. 406/516b (1788)

In 1787, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart revisitedhis Wind Serenade in C minor, K. 388 and,perhaps in need of a quick source of income,made a new arrangement – along with a handful of other serenades – for string quintet. In its original form, it is consideredone of Mozart's finest contributions to thewind repertoire, notable for its unusually darkkey of C minor. It is not clear for which occasion the Serenade was written, though itseems likely that it was commissioned forEmperor Joseph II's newly-formed wind octet(scored for two oboes, two clarinets, twohorns, and two bassoons), with its solemn keyindicating a rather more sombre purpose thansimple light entertainment. This is reinforcedby the work's stormy opening movement, aterse Allegro whose constantly shifting textures and dynamics create a tensionbetween light and dark, and by the work'suncharacteristic Menuetto and Trio, whose contrapuntal complexity is totally out of keeping with dance movements from this period. When Mozart later adapted it for theString Quintet in C minor K. 406/516b, heretained almost all of the work's thematicmaterial, simply rescoring the oboe and clarinet lines of the original for violin, the hornparts for viola and the bassoon lines for cello. Itseems fitting, then, that in today's performance, the first violin part is taken overonce more by the oboe – proving just howclosely-related these two seemingly disparateinstruments are in both character and tone.

I. AllegroII. AndanteIII. Menuetto and TrioIV. Allegro

britten sinfonia

Britten Sinfonia is one of the world’s most celebrated and pioneering ensembles. Theorchestra is acclaimed for its virtuoso musicianship, an inspired approach to concertprogramming, which makes bold, intelligentconnections across 400 years of repertoire,and a versatility that is second to none.Britten Sinfonia breaks the mould by not having a principal conductor or director,instead choosing to collaborate with a range ofthe finest international guest artists fromacross the musical spectrum, resulting in performances of rare insight and energy.

Britten Sinfonia is an Associate Ensemble atthe Barbican in London, and has residenciesacross the east of England in Norwich, SaffronWalden and Cambridge (where it is an ensemble-in-residence at the University). Theorchestra also performs a chamber musicseries at Wigmore Hall and appears regularlyat major UK festivals including Aldeburgh andthe BBC Proms. The orchestra’s growinginternational profile includes regular touring toNorth and South America, Europe and itsIndian debut in August 2014 with a tour of sixmajor cities. In May 2016 Britten Sinfoniamade its debut in China.

Founded in 1992, the orchestra is inspired bythe ethos of Benjamin Britten through world-class performances, illuminating anddistinctive programmes where old meets new,and a deep commitment to bringing outstanding music to both the world’s finestconcert halls and the local community. BrittenSinfonia is a BBC Radio 3 broadcast partnerand regularly records for Harmonia Mundi andHyperion.

www.brittensinfonia.com

brian elias

Brian Elias studied at the Royal College ofMusic in London with Humphrey Searle andBernard Stevens and privately with ElisabethLutyens. After five years working at a financecompany in New York he returned to Londonto re-establish a musical career. The development of his musical language can betraced through his major orchestral works. TheWebernesque La Chevelure (1967) was followed twelve years later by Somnia; theintensity of L'Eylah (1983) is built upon in theexquisite Five Songs to Poems by IrinaRatushinskaya (1989) and the powerfullyexpressionist ballet The Judas Tree (1991) leadsto the playful but dark The House that JackBuilt (2001). Two recent orchestral pieces,Doubles and Electra Mourns, have both wonBritish Composer Awards (in 2010 and 2013respectively). A CD of his music will bereleased by NMC Recordings in 2017.

norwich

Alongside the At Lunch concerts at StAndrew’s Hall Britten Sinfonia also performs a series of full-length evening concerts in Norwich – pick up a brochure inthe foyer for more details.

cambridge

Britten Sinfonia is ensemble-in-association atCambridge University and regularly leadsworkshops and masterclasses for the faculty ofmusic. The orchestra also regularly performs invenues in and around Cambridge – seewww.brittensinfonia.com for more details.

london

Wigmore Hall is a no-smokingvenue. No recording or photographic equipment may betaken into the auditorium, nor used in anyother part of the Hall without the prior written permission of the Hall Management.Wigmore Hall is equipped with a ‘Loop’ systemto help hearing aid users receive clear soundwithout background noise. Patrons can use thefacility by switching their hearing aids over to‘T’. In accordance with the requirements ofCity of Westminster, persons shall not be permitted to stand or sit in any of the gangways intersecting the seating, or to sit inany other gangways. If standing is permitted inthe gangways at the sides and rear of the seating, it shall be limited to the numbers indicated in the notices exhibited in thosepositions.

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All programme notes © Jo Kirkbride

Commissioning Partner