Britten Sinfonia: Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and Haydn's Symphony No.8

Britten Sinfonia
Zoë Beyers violin / director
Sascha Bota viola

Haydn Symphony No. 8 "Le Soir"
Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola and orchestra
Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht

A chance to see Britten Sinfonia in its signature form – unconducted and with the dynamism and dedication of the players on full display.

Mozart’s duo concerto is one of his grandest, fusing emotional depth and the playful sparring of a pair of soloists.

The last part of Haydn’s time-of-day triptych of symphonies – morning, midday, evening – mixes the collective virtuosity of the early Baroque concerto grosso with the wit and panache of his later symphonies and features a storm that echoes Vivaldi at his most pictorial. 

Schoenberg was eventually to take music into the modern age, but his early works belong to the Romantic era. His  poetry-inspired masterpiece is fuelled by passion, tenderness and is soaked in gorgeous string textures and harmonies. The subject matter sounds Wagnerian, and so does much of the music – a sumptuous nighttime instrumental mini-drama.