Lipatti Piano Quartet

Mozart: Piano Quartet in G minor K. 478

Caroline Shaw: Thousandth Orange

Interval

Brahms: Piano Quartet in G minor Op. 25

The Lipatti Piano Quartet return to Wallingford after their previous, much enjoyed concert. Named after the legendary Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti, the ensemble was formed in 2013, participating in masterclasses with a number of highly distinguished chamber musicians, before their Wigmore Hall debut in 2017.

Mozart’s two piano quartets are the first works of any significance for the genre. Both masterpieces, the G minor, like the symphony and string quintet in the same key, is highly confessional; Mozart allowing darker emotions usually hidden deep in his work, to come to the surface. The three piano quartets that Brahms published are, deservedly, a mainstay of the repertoire. The G minor is a work of great contrast, passion and energy, finishing with an explosive and exciting example of his Hungarian gypsy style.

Between these two works, the music of American composer, Caroline Shaw, makes a welcome return to Wallingford. The recent work’s intriguing title refers to the fruit, not the colour! A recent reviewer writes: The heart of ‘Thousandth Orange’ is a short chord progression largely owned by the piano. The progression is taken to foreign keys with unexpected overlappings by the violin, viola and ’cello.