LSO Discovery

Friday
Lunchtime Concert
Friday 13 November 2020 12.30pm

LSO St Luke's Jerwood Hall

© Matthew Weinreb

A chamber music group playing in the Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke's

© Yamaha

LSO St Luke's Jerwood Hall

© Matthew Weinreb

© Yamaha

Friday 13 November 2020
Friday Lunchtime Concert

Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartet

Consone Quartet
Rachel Leach presenter


Visit our website for information on how we are ensuring activity at our venue LSO St Luke’s is COVID-19 secure.

The support of our audience has truly never been more important for the Orchestra and its world-class artistic programme. By supporting us now and in the months to come, you will help us to continue to adapt our music-making and activities to meet the challenges of these times, including sharing the gift of music with our local communities through our LSO Discovery programme.


This performance is generously supported by the Estate of the late Ms Denise Antenen and our Technical Partner, Yamaha Professional Audio.

Fanny Mendelssohn

String Quartet

1834

  1. Adagio ma non troppo
  2. Allegretto
  3. Romanze
  4. Allegro molto vivace

The oldest of the four Mendelssohn children, Fanny was the first to display any interest or talent in music. She was taught piano by her mother and was able to play all of Bach's 24 Preludes and Fugues by the age of just 13.

She wrote music throughout her life, amassing more than 460 works, mostly for piano or voice, but it was not the done thing for women to publish music in the 1800s and her father was very much against it. Her composer brother Felix stated that she was simply too shy to put her name to anything in public although just before her death she did publish a collection (Op 1) without asking approval or permission from anyone. She died suddenly after having a stroke aged just 42. Felix died also from a stroke less than six months later.

This, her only String Quartet, was written in 1834 and based on an earlier, unfinished Piano Sonata. It is her only work for strings and one of the very first string quartets written by a woman. It has an unusual form, beginning with a melancholic slow movement before moving on to a playful dance-like Allegretto.

The third movement is the emotional heart of the piece, – it is simply called Romanze. The work ends with a fast flurry, but it's not all bright and cheery, there is still something troubling within the notes. Mendelssohn later remarked that she was surprised by the emotional depth of the piece being herself ‘not eccentric nor overly sentimental in any way'.

Note by Rachel Leach

Artist Biographies

Consone Quarte

Agata Daraškaite violin
Magdalena Loth-Hill violin
Elitas Bogdanova viola
George Ross cello

The first period instrument quartet to be selected as BBC New Generation Artists, the Consone Quartet is making a name for itself with honest and expressive interpretations of classical and early romantic repertoire. The ensemble’s debut CD explores music by Haydn and Mendelssohn, and was met with critical acclaim.

Formed in 2012 at the Royal College of Music in London, the Consone Quartet won the 2016 Royal Over-Seas League Ensemble Prize having previously been awarded two prizes at the 2015 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition.

Consone has been enthusiastically received at London’s Wigmore Hall, King’s Place and St Martin-in-the-Fields, and at the Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Brighton Early Music and King’s Lynn Festivals.

The quartet continues to enhance its international reputation, having performed in France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bolivia and Peru.

Consone has collaborated with a number of fellow musicians, including the Fitzwilliam Quartet and members of the Hanover Band. More of these collaborative projects are being planned, including concerts with other Radio 3 New Generation Artists.

The group was scheduled to perform at a number of festivals in 2020, including Tanglewood Festival and the BBC Proms; these dates are being rescheduled. The quartet is looking forward to a series of four concerts at the Dora Stoutzker Hall in Cardiff later this season, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and a tour of Japan in 2021.

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama recently appointed the Consone Quartet as Chamber Music Fellows for the 2020/21 academic year.

Watch online: YouTube Sundays

Every Sunday this Autumn we'll be sharing an excerpt, work or full concert from our season at LSO St Luke's on our YouTube channel: 14 weeks of great music to enjoy for free.

LSO St Luke's exterior

© Neil Wilkinson

LSO St Luke's exterior

© Neil Wilkinson

LSO St Luke's exterior

© Neil Wilkinson

© Neil Wilkinson

© Neil Wilkinson

© Neil Wilkinson

Thank You for Joining Us

The support of our audience has truly never been more important. You can help us to continue to adapt our music-making and activities to meet the challenges of these times.

You can also donate now via text.

Text LSOAUTUMN 5, LSOAUTUMN 10 or LSOAUTUMN 20 to 70085 to donate £5, £10 or £20.

Texts cost £5, £10 or £20 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS. If you’d like to give but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text LSOAUTUMNNOINFO 5, 10 or 20 to 70085. UK numbers only.

Thank you.

Keep Exploring

Keep scrolling for details of our next Friday Lunchtime Concert…

What's Next?

Friday 20 November 2020, 12.30pm
Friday Lunchtime Concert:
Relaxed Performance
Free YouTube Broadcast

Music for string quartet by Chevalier de Saint Georges, Ravel, Borodin and Beethoven, as well as the world premiere of the final movement of Scenes of Aden by Ewan Mackay

Clare Duckworth violin
Tom Norris violin
Malcolm Johnston viola
Eve-Marie Caravassilis cello
Rachel Leach presenter


Our relaxed performances are open and welcoming to all, and are especially suited to audience members who may prefer a more relaxed performance style, such as people with autism, sensory and communication impairments, and learning disabilities.

We hope you will join us from the comfort of your own home where you'll be free to move and make as much noise as you like! There will also be the opportunity to express your own creativity during the concert, so have your paints, pens or other art materials to hand.

Broadcast live on YouTube
Available to watch for 90 days.