Joanna MacGregor - Folk-Inspired

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Ruth Rogers and Antonia Kesel violins
Jon Thorne viola
Peter Adams cello
Joanna MacGregor piano

Frank Martin Trio on Popular Irish Folk Tunes
Shostakovich Piano Trio no.2 in E minor Op.67
Dvorák Piano Quintet no.2 in A major Op.81

In association with Brighton Dome and Strings Attached, Brighton Philharmonic’s star players come together in a chamber programme inspired by folk music, finishing with Dvorák’s gorgeously rich Piano Quintet no.2.

Frank Martin’s Trio on Popular Irish Tunes skilfully weaves ten traditional melodies into his three-movement fantasia, deftly creating an Irish medley with character and affection. Shostakovich’s second piano trio – frenzied, brilliant and dark - has its own folk associations. Klezmer music permeates this 1944 work, whose elegiac but bitterly ecstatic writing reflects the wartime conditions of Soviet Russia, and the loss of Shostakovich’s close friend, the musician Ivan Sollertinsky.

The second half twinkles to Dvorák’s magnificent Piano Quintet in A major, written in 1887. His gracious, soulfully folk-tinged melodies - frequently enriched with loving countermelodies - and his instrumental colour, textural inventiveness and lyrical warmth should be imbibed as frequently as possible.