The Novus String Quartet is one of South Korea’s leading chamber ensembles. The quartet has developed a thrilling international reputation ever since winning first prize at the Salzburg Mozart Competition in 2014. Making its International Festival debut, the quartet performs three contrasting masterpieces from the heart of the string quartet repertoire.

The concert opens with Franz Schubert’s ‘Quartettsatz’, a short, poetic piece that captures the beauty of the composer’s bittersweet style. Benjamin Britten’s Second String Quartet forms the centrepiece of the programme. Britten wrote this work after the end of the Second World War to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Henry Purcell’s death. Britten’s tribute to his eminent Baroque forerunner takes the form of the final Chacony. This is an extended set of variations in which Baroque structure melds with Britten’s rugged harmonic style. To close, Brahms’s Second String Quartet embarks on a journey through the composer’s autumnal romanticism.

This concert will be featured on BBC Radio 3 on 10 August.

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