Themes for Concerts and Series

Quartet & Voice

Sample Programme 
RESPIGHI: Il Tramonto for string quartet with voice
PIZZETTI: Tre Canzoni for string quartet with voice
PUCCINI: I Cyrsantemi
SCHUBERT: Death and the Maiden OR Schoenberg 2nd quartet with voice

One, two or three programmes
To include, for example:

RESPIGHI: Il Tramonto
PIZZETTI: Tre Canzoni for string quartet with voice
BARBER: Dover Beach
HAYDN: Seven Last Words on the Cross
(with specially-commissioned poems and narration by Andrew Motion or Ruth Padel)
SCHOENBERG: No.2
or BERG: Lyric Suite (version with soprano)
SCHUMANN: Offertorium (for string quartet, violoncello and voice)
SCHUBERT: “Death and the Maiden”
ROXANNA PANUFNIK: New Commission for quartet and narrator

End Games (Late or last works for quartet or altogether)

Sample  Programmes 
Mendelssohn Op 80     Beethoven Op 135   Schubert G major

Haydn 77/2  Bartok 6    Janacek 2

Three or four programmes
To include, for example:

MOZART: K.590
BARTOK: No.6
BEETHOVEN: Op.135
HAYDN: Op.77 No.2
HAYDN: Op.103
SCHUBERT: Quartet in G major
MENDELSSOHN: Op.80
BRITTEN: No.3
JANACEK: No.2 “Intimate Letters”
BEETHOVEN: Op.127
ELGAR: Quartet in E minor
MOZART: Last viola quintet
or BRAHMS: Clarinet quintet

Varieties of Variation forms

Sample Programmes
Haydn Op 20/4   Britten No.2   Schumann No.  3
Beethoven Op 18/5   Beethoven Op 74  Beethoven Op 131

Programmes to include, for example:

HAYDN: Op.77 No.2
BEETHOVEN: Op.74 or Op.131 or Op.18 No.5
SCHUMANN: No.3
HAYDN: Op.20 No.4
BRITTEN: No.2
MOZART: K.464
BRAHMS: No.3
SCHUBERT: “Death and the Maiden”

Scales and Arpeggios

Sample programme
Haydn Op 76/6  Bartok No. 3   Beethoven Op 130

Programmes to include, for example:

HAYDN: Op.76 No.6
BARTOK: No.4
BEETHOVEN: Op.18 No.5
HAYDN: Op.64 No.6
BARTOK: No.3
BEETHOVEN: Op.130

Fugato and Canon in quartets

Sample programme 
Haydn Op 20/5  Shostakovich No 8 Beethoven Op 59/3

Up to Three programmes

HAYDN: Op.20 No.5
TIPPETT: No.2
BEETHOVEN: Op.131
HAYDN: Op.20 No.6
SHOSTAKOVICH: No.8
BEETHOVEN: Op.59 No.3
MOZART: K.387
BARTOK: No.3
BEETHOVEN: Op.130 with Grosse Fuge

The Beethoven Cycle (in 6 concerts)

All Beethoven quartets

Hungarian/Paprika theme (in 3 concerts)

HAYDN: Op.54 No.2, Op.64 No.6, Op.74 No.3
BARTOK: Nos.2, 4 and 6.
BRAHMS: Piano quartet in G minor, Clarinet quintet, Piano quintet

English quartets

Including Purcell, Britten, Tippett, Walton, Elgar, Bridge and many contemporaries.
For example:

PURCELL: 2 Fantasias
HAYDN: Op 74/3 “The Rider” (composed for Salomon to premiere in London)
ADES: Arcadiana
BRITTEN: 2 (last movt based on a Purcell Chaconne) OR Tippett 2 (very influenced by Purcell)

Cantab…ile

Programmes of pieces with Cambridge connections
For example:

ROBIN HOLLOWAY: Quartettino no 5
ROBERTO GERHARD: no 1 (he lived in Cambridge for the second half of his life)
ADES: Arcadiana
TCHAIKOVSKY: 2 (received an Honorary Degree from Cambridge University)
Or
JUDITH WEIR: no 1
ALEXANDER GOEHR: no 2 or 3
GILES SWAYNE: Three pieces for Quartet
BRAHMS: 2 (offered an Honorary Degree by Cambridge University )

Czech

Sample programme
Smetana No.1   Martinu No. 7    Dvorak Op 96  The American

Influences

Sample programme
Beethoven Op 74  Mendelssohn Op. 13 Schumann No.1

Master and pupil, protégé, musical friends:

Haydn – Mozart; Haydn – Beethoven; Smetana – Dvorak;
Schumann – Brahms; Bridge – Britten; Schoenberg – Berg;
Schoenberg – Webern

 

Mozart the violist

For example:

Quartet K590
Duo for violin and viola in B flat
Viola quintet in G minor

 

Written in exile or away from home

Any of the HAYDN/MOZART written while abroad
BARTOK: No.6 or ROBERTO GERHARD: No.1
DVORAK: “American”

 

The influence of other countries

HAYDN: Op.54 No.2 (Hungary)
BARTOK: No.5 (Bulgaria)
DVORAK: “American”

 

The Song Influence

For Example:

HAYDN: Op.20 No.6 (slow movt. Aria)
PUCCINI: I Crysantemi
SCHUBERT: “Death and the Maiden”