Cancelled: David Oistrakh String Quartet

Music by Tchaikovsky, Rebecca Clarke and more.

Supporting oneself as a composer has never been easy. For example, Tchaikovsky composed his first string quartet in 1871 for the purpose of bringing in a little extra money, because he could barely survive on his pay from the conservatory in Moscow. The piece is filled with melodies that inspire listeners to sing along, and the second movement, based on a folk song, is among his most beloved compositions.

Tchaikovsky’s quartet will be on the programme when the David Oistrakh String Quartet performs at Konserthuset Stockholm. The four members are all incredibly successful as soloists, and as an ensemble they have performed throughout their home country of Russia and in Europe, Asia and South America. Their 2020 calendar includes, among many other performances, concerts at Wigmore Hall in London, Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and the Wiener Konzerthaus.

They will also play a dazzlingly energetic string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, which he composed in 1838 and dedicated to the Swedish Crown Prince Oscar I. In addition, we will hear Poem for String Quartet from 1926 by English composer and alto violinist Rebecca Clarke, who was one of the first professional female orchestral musicians in England, as well as Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances in an arrangement for string quartet.