LSO Discovery
Free Friday Lunchtime Concert
TODAY'S CONCERT
Joseph Haydn
Allegretto from String Quartet Op 64 No 6 in E-flat major
Arnold Schoenberg
Allegro molto from String Quartet in D major
Jessie Montgomery
Strum
Olatz Ruiz de Gordejuela violin
Alix Lagasse violin
Germán Clavijo viola
Salvador Bolón cello
Rachel Leach presenter
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Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Allegretto from String Quartet Op 64 No 6 in E-flat major
1790 was a big year for Joseph Haydn. After decades of service, his role with the Esterházy family changed when the head of the family, Prince Nikolaus, died, and most of the court musicians were let go. Haydn found himself with a small stipend but little to do, so he took up an offer to visit London. He was extremely famous in England but had never visited and it was said that barely a concert went by without his works on the programme. On his way to the UK he visited Bonn, met a young new talent called Beethoven, and completed a set of six quartets.
Written with Hungarian violinist Johann Tost in mind, the set of quartets features prominent first violin parts that were clearly written for his playing style. Tost helped to secure a publisher for the set and therefore the works are now named after him. Number 6 in E-flat major begins with a mellow and thoughtful opening movement that shows Haydn’s mature sound which would flourish further in his ‘London’ symphonies.
Note by Rachel Leach
Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
Allegro molto from String Quartet in D major
Schoenberg was born into a humble family of shopkeepers. He was largely self-taught and yet grew up to be one of the most important figures in the history of music because of his revolutionary system of harmony that completely re-wrote the rulebook. He was initially inspired by the Romantic music of Brahms and Wagner, however, and his first compositions bear little resemblance to the extreme atonal works that were to follow.
Sometimes known as Quartet No 0, this is an early work from Schoenberg, written for his teacher Alexander von Zemlinsky. Schoenberg worked on it until Zemlinsky declared he had reached a new advanced stage of understanding. He then showed the piece to Brahms, who gave it a seal of approval. It was Schoenberg’s first public success but then left unpublished until after his death, hence the numbering.
Note by Rachel Leach
Jessie Montgomery (b 1981)
Strum
Born in New York City to an artistic family, Jessie Montgomery began learning violin at a young age and went on to study violin at the prestigious Juilliard School. She is now a multi award-winning composer, violinist and educator who describes herself as ‘an acute interpreter of 21st-century American sound and experience’.
Strum began life as a string quartet in 2006 before it was revised for string orchestra six years later. Montgomery said of the work: ‘drawing on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, the piece has a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration’. It features many string techniques and, as the name suggests, a bit of strumming!
Note by Rachel Leach
About the Artists
Olatz Ruiz de Gordejuela, violin
LSO First Violin
LSO Member since 2023
Born in 1997, Olatz is a member of the First Violins of the London Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the first violins of the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig until 2023. She was a student of Zakhar Bron and Yuri Volguin at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, where she was part of the Iberia Quartet under the tutelage of Heime Müller. Until then she had been a private student of teacher Keiko Wataya. She completed her studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg with Professor Klara Flieder, graduating with the highest grades.
Her interest in orchestral and chamber music led her to be part of the academy of the Concertgebouw Orkest of Amsterdam in the 2019/20 season, where Tabea Zimmermann was her mentor, and collaborating with the Camerata RCO on numerous tours. She has collaborated with renowned artists such as Leonidas Kavakos, Ferenc Rados, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Nicolás Chumachenco, and Vadim Gluzman. Olatz plays an Italian instrument by Francesco Maurizi, built in Appignano c1880, loaned by a private patron.
Alix Lagasse, violin
LSO Second Violin
LSO Member since 2019, Professor at Royal College of Music Junior Department
Born in Antwerp in 1991, Alix Lagasse graduated from the Artist Diploma Course at the Royal College of Music with Itzhak Rashkovsky in 2017, after completing her Master's degree there. She was awarded the Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal for her outstanding musical achievements and her ongoing dedication to the RCM. Alix has won several prizes in international competitions. She became a laureate in the Lions European Musical Competition and won first prize in the Belgian Dexia Classics Competition. With her duo partner Maria Tarasewicz, Alix continues to gives recitals across the UK and Europe.
Germán Clavijo, viola
LSO Viola
LSO Member since 2009, Professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Born in Argentina, Germán Clavijo trained with Ljerko Spiller in Buenos Aires and subsequently at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Jack Glickman and Rachel Podger.
As a chamber musician he has studied with David Takeno and members of the Vellinger, Takacs, Melos and Amadeus Quartets. He has also attended masterclasses at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Germán was awarded the Dorothy Adams Prize and the Deutsche Bank Pyramyd Award, among others, and has participated in several chamber music festivals.
He has recorded for Classic FM and the BBC and for Radio Nacional and TVE (Spain). He has worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Opera House and the Ensemble Modern. Germán was Principal Viola of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and Artistic Director of the Ensemble Instrumental de Granada.
Salvador Bolón, cello
LSO Cello
LSO Member since 2024
Born in Valencia, Salvador began playing the cello at the age of eight under the guidance of Salvador Novejarque. He later studied under Ivan Monighetti and Sol Gabetta at the Hochschule für Musik Basel and the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia. He has also studied under Asier Polo in Musikene and is greatly influenced by Gregor Horsch.
Salvador has served as Principal Guest Cellist with various orchestras including the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Solistes Europeéns Luxembourg, Basque National Orchestra, Orchestre National de Cannes, and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. He has won prizes in national and international cello and chamber music competitions, including First Prize at the Jeunesse Musicales Spain and the Primer Palau competition in Barcelona.
In his work as a soloist, Salvador has performed with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Radio Nacional de España and the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, among others. He has received scholarships from the Fundación Albéniz, Fundación BBVA, the University of Valencia, and the Generalitat Valenciana.
His collaboration with pianist Benedicte Palko is an integral part of his chamber music career. He is the founder and artistic director of the Kairós Project Ensemble and has been the artistic director of the Calderona Chamber Music Festival since 2021.
Salvador plays a Benjamin Banks cello, made in 1790.
© Kevin Leighton
© Kevin Leighton
Rachel Leach
Presenter
Rachel Leach was born in Sheffield. She studied composition, and her music has been recorded by NMC and published by Faber. She has won several awards, including the RPS award for best education project 2009 for One Day, Two Dawns, with English Touring Opera (ETO).
Rachel has worked within the education departments of most of the UK’s orchestras and opera companies. The majority of her work is for the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachel has written well over 20 pieces for LSO Discovery and 15 community operas, including seven for English Touring Opera.
Increasingly in-demand as a concert presenter, as well as presenting the LSO Discovery Free Friday Lunchtime Concert series, she regularly presents children’s concerts and pre-concert events for the LSO, LPO, Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal College of Music and Royal Northern Sinfonia.
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Relaxed Free Friday Lunchtime Concert
Friday 8 May 2026
12.30pm
LSO St Luke's
Our relaxed concerts are tailored for people who have sensory and communication impairments, learning disabilities, or who are neurodiverse. Everyone over the age of 5 who feels more comfortable attending concerts in a relaxed environment is welcome.
This short concert will introduce you to orchestral instruments and chamber music. Friendly introductions from our presenter will guide you through the concert, and large print programmes are available for free. There is a chance to ask questions in the Q&A session.
Not suitable for under-5s.
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