Programme

In Rychvald, two leading Czech ensembles – the Bennewitz Quartet and the Zemlinsky Quartet – join forces to perform two of the most daring and magnificent chamber works ever written. Mendelssohn’s String Octet in E-flat major, composed by the sixteen-year-old genius, is an explosion of youthful energy, flawless melodic invention and breathtaking virtuosity. The work became an icon of Romantic chamber music and continues to astonish with its freshness and structural precision. The Romanian composer George Enescu followed Mendelssohn with his own Octet in C major, a monumental composition that blends elements of late Romanticism, French Impressionism and the inner fervour of the Balkan musical world. Performed by eight outstanding musicians, the result will be a richly textured soundscape oscillating between delicate lyricism and symphonic density. The concert promises an exceptional chamber music experience where youth, vitality and aristocratic maturity meet in the works of two great compositional personalities.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847): String Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20, MWV R20

— intermission —

George Enescu (1881–1955): String Octet in C major, Op. 7