A finely wrought quartet

The programme started with a quartet by Schumann, one of three written in 1842, when much of his chamber music was composed.

The work was very well suited to the uniformly harmonious tone produced by the members of the quartet: Schumann's compositions often give equal weight to each part, which may have a bearing in criticism of the orchestration of his symphonies, but in the quartet form this can be very acceptable to the listener.

On this occasion the players excelled in their mellifluous interpretation.

For the second item the group was joined by Stephen Pierce for the performance of the Clarinet Quintet by Josef Holbrooke, who started his career early playing piano in Victorian music halls.

The piece is easy to listen to but testing for the Clarinettist who is required to play very softly at the top of the instrument's range.

Holbrooke was obsessed with the poems of the Edgar Alann Poe, and attempted to reflect result bears some similarity to music written for films or television drama, but held the audience's attention in this performance.

The concert finished with an all-time favourite in Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A major. The smooth tone and excellent ensemble of the players contributed to the feeling of wellbeing and happiness often induced by the genius of Mozart.