Takacs Quartet

Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D, Op.64 No.5 (The Lark)
Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F
Interval
Dmitry Shostakovich: Quintet in G minor for piano & strings, Op.57

Southbank Centre Associate Artists the Takács Quartet return to close the International Chamber Music Season with a programme of three great chamber classics.

The first half juxtaposes Haydn's inventive and ever-popular 'Lark' quartet with Ravel's impressionist masterpiece. Considering the melodic inspiration and harmonic flair Ravel poured into this work, it is remarkable that the French composer wrote only one string quartet.

The concert ends with Shostakovich's popular Piano Quintet. The piece is as ironic and expressive as the composer's greatest string quartets, yet - through its commanding piano part - exhibits a sweeping grandeur redolent of his symphonies.

Takács Quartet
Aleksandar Madzar piano