This event has been postponed until the new year 2026. Please check back here or see our email alerts for details of the new date.
Performing the Piano Quintet in G Minor by Dmitri Shostakovich and other works
The Fitzwilliam Quartet’s international reputation was forged early on through their unique friendship with Dmitri Shostakovich.
The eminent composer’s “preferred performers”, the quartet performed the Western premières of his last three quartets and went on to produce the seminal recording of all fifteen.
Now to mark the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death, the quartet has joined forces with pianist Sarah Nicolls to perform the composer’s only piano quintet, the 1940 premiere of which featured Shostakovich himself at the piano.
One of the longest established string quartets in the world, the Fitzwilliam Quartet has appeared regularly across the UK, Europe, North America, the Middle and Far East, and Southern Africa. They have held numerous university residencies in the UK and US and made many award-winning recordings for Decca, Linn, and Divine Art. 4
Their repertoire ranges from gut-string recordings of Schubert and Beethoven to innovative new commissions from composers including Ian Stephens, Michael Blake and Liz Dilnot Johnson, and collaborations with German saxophonist Uwe Steinmetz and former Turtle Island Quartet violinist Mads Tolling.
Since winning the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2000, Sarah Nicolls has gone on to premiere works in concert halls from London to Seoul and Sao Paulo, and for BBC broadcasts with London Sinfonietta and the Philharmonia. 4
She is currently re-inventing the piano itself, supported by Innovate UK and Arts Council England, and is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in Music and Engineering at King’s College, London.
Programme
Alexander Glazunov: Interludium in Stile Antico (Movement 3) from 5 Novelettes, Op. 15
Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Improvisation and Romance
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet no 1 op 49
I N T E R V A L
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57
Licensed bar. Doors open 6:45pm. Concert starts at 7:30pm
Please note: on the door on the night adult tickets will cost £28