Ora Quartet plays in Bray 14th October
About the show
The wonderful Ora String Quartet plays masterpieces by Haydn, Shostakovich and Schumann as well as a fascinating new work by Grammy-nominated Irish composer Alex Dowling
Haydn’s F major quartet is the most concise of his famous set of Prussian Quartets from 1786, nicknamed The Dream after the calm, otherworldly slow movement. Poised and elegant as always, Haydn delights in playful textures and unexpected turns, particularly in the mischievous final movement.
Alex Dowling’s Breathers is a collection of pieces that guide your breath. The composer writes: In recent years I began practicing meditation as a way to help with various health and autoimmune issues… I would usually do the meditation in silence but, after a while, I decided to try and write something that might serve as a backdrop. A type of music that could help with concentration and going deeper, but also something that I’d actually want to listen to.
Shostakovich’s string quartet no.11, from 1966, is dedicated to the memory of Vasily Shirinsky, second violinist of the Beethoven Quartet and a close friend of the composer, who had died a few months previously. Its seven short, connected, movements reflect on the loss in different ways, with tenderness, admiration, humour, anger and grief.
Schumann’s A minor quartet is the first of his three extraordinary quartets which inhabit the fervent, lyrical world of Romanticism. At its heart, the slow movement is one his most beautiful creations, unfolding with a quiet, glowing warmth. Celebratory and almost orchestral in its textures, the finale brings the quartet, and the concert, to a rousing end.
Haydn’s F major quartet is the most concise of his famous set of Prussian Quartets from 1786, nicknamed The Dream after the calm, otherworldly slow movement. Poised and elegant as always, Haydn delights in playful textures and unexpected turns, particularly in the mischievous final movement.
Alex Dowling’s Breathers is a collection of pieces that guide your breath. The composer writes: In recent years I began practicing meditation as a way to help with various health and autoimmune issues… I would usually do the meditation in silence but, after a while, I decided to try and write something that might serve as a backdrop. A type of music that could help with concentration and going deeper, but also something that I’d actually want to listen to.
Shostakovich’s string quartet no.11, from 1966, is dedicated to the memory of Vasily Shirinsky, second violinist of the Beethoven Quartet and a close friend of the composer, who had died a few months previously. Its seven short, connected, movements reflect on the loss in different ways, with tenderness, admiration, humour, anger and grief.
Schumann’s A minor quartet is the first of his three extraordinary quartets which inhabit the fervent, lyrical world of Romanticism. At its heart, the slow movement is one his most beautiful creations, unfolding with a quiet, glowing warmth. Celebratory and almost orchestral in its textures, the finale brings the quartet, and the concert, to a rousing end.
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