R Strauss Sextet from Capriccio | Dvorak String Quintet in E flat Op. 97 |

Mendelssohn Octet

Tickets: £23.00 stalls, £18.00 gallery | Full Time Students and Under 18s Free

During Dvoák's summer holiday in Iowa in 1893 he composed his string quartet in F, the American, in just over two weeks. He aimed to make it especially simple and melodious and succeeded in creating what is possibly the best-loved work in the genre.

Beethoven wrote his last quartet op 135 a few months before his death. It has a darkly beautiful slow movement where, at one point, time seems to almost stand still. The finale begins with an ominous slow introduction entitled "the difficult decision". Muss es sein? (Must it be?) The following Allegro answers the question – Es muss sein!

In 1782 Haydn published his op 33 set of string quartets, announcing they were composed in a new and special way. No 3 in C, the Bird, is a joyful work ending with a finale based on a Slavonic dance tune.