Knussen Chamber Orchestra II: Echoesat Snape Maltings

Early Britten, elegant Brahms and Wigglesworth’s touching dialogue with Bach in our final Festival concert.

The Double Concerto is one of Britten’s earliest orchestral pieces, composed when he was still a student. Full of youthful vigour and flair, it finds the 18-year old composer trying out his style – but already we can hear his absolute command of the orchestra. An intriguing, mercurial work.

Wigglesworth looks back to Bach in his touching tribute to violinist Laura Samuel in For Laura, after Bach. The inspiration was the performance of Bach’s Violin Partita in D minor, performed at her funeral. Yet as the composer put it, “Although shadows do pass across the music’s surface, this is not so much a mournful piece as a celebratory one”. He added that the piece “is a small token of my immense and everlasting gratitude for Laura’s friendship”.

Brahms’ Piano Quintet was described by conductor Hermann Levi as “beautiful beyond measure”, and it is generally considered one of the finest chamber works of the 19th century. It had a hard time getting there: from its original manifestation as a string quintet, to a sojourn as a piano duet, Brahms worried at the piece for several years. The final outcome is magnificent.