2. Chamber Music Concert

Niels Wilhelm Gade Piano trio in F major Op.42
Ernest Bloch Poème mystique violin sonata No. 2
Georges Enescu Octet for strings in C major Op. 7

Court Kapellmeister – a title that composers were extremely keen on until the 19th century. At the Danish court in Copenhagen in 1861, it was Niels Wilhelm Gade who was delighted to be appointed to this position. It was during this time that he composed his Piano Trio in F major op. 42 – a work in which he audibly recalled the period of his life in Leipzig, during which he was the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister and associated with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Robert Schumann. Ernest Bloch, whose works are influenced by Jewish musical traditions, was both a reconciler and an admonisher of music. His second violin sonata, titled Poème mystique, is impressionistic in tone and alternates between meditative and highly expressive passages. In it, Bloch combines Jewish melodies and synagogue chants with Gregorian chorales from the early Christian church. In 1899, the string octet by the 16-year-old Felix Mendelssohn aroused the ambition of George Enescu, who was only a little older at the time. The Romanian composer maximised the sonic power of this large string ensemble with sweeping melodic arcs and intense furor.