Royal College of Music Ensemble

An ensemble comprising senior students from the Royal College of Music joins the festival for this lunchtime concert which features a particular favourite of Beethoven’s. Written when he was only 26, Beethoven regularly programmed his Quintet for piano and wind instruments at his concerts. At the time he was most well-known for his virtuosic piano playing and improvisations, and in this particular Quintet, he is said to have embellished the final cadenza with additional improvisations to tease the wind players, who were waiting for their cue to come back in!

Louise Farrenc was also known as a piano virtuoso, but conversely to Beethoven’s Quintet, her Nonet doesn’t feature the piano at all, but rather a group of nine wind and string instruments. Her most famous work, it is easy to see why this exquisitely crafted and vivacious piece was well-loved in her lifetime and certainly deserves to be performed more often today.

Please note start time.