The Depths of...

It was only a few weeks before he died aged 31 in November 1828, that Schubert completed his last instrumental work, the Piano Sonata in B flat major, D960.

In a change of programme to Event 3 of York Chamber Music Festival, Katya Apekisheva will perform Schubert's B flat major sonata, with its effortless stream of melody, through which there is a sense of timelessness, quiet majesty, and cosmic expanse.

The great German pianist Wilhelm Kempff (1895 - 1991) realised what he was dealing with when he said the sonata was, “… an exploration of the immeasurable depths of Schubert’s soul.”

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Before Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, composed in 1948, a year before he died age 85, came his strings only septet Metamorphosen. (‘transformation’). Hear seven of the best string soloists in Europe play this radiant, melodic outpouring.

There is also an evening of English music which includes the rarely played Piano Quintet by Vaughan Williams and Elgar’s late masterpiece, his Piano Quintet, with the festival string players and Katya. In two much anticipated lunchtime recitals Katya joins cellist Tim Lowe in music by Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms, as well as her own solo recital performance of Schubert’s soul-searching Piano Sonata, D960. Hear also Dvorak’s joyous string sextet, one of Haydn’s greatest/late string quartets, Mendelssohn’s youthful, lyrical string quartet and more.

Festival Artists: Jonathan Stone, John Mills (Violins) Hélène Clément, Simone van der Giessen (Violas) Tim Lowe, Jonathan Aasgaard (Cellos), Billy Cole (Double Bass) Katya Apekisheva (Piano)

Come and join us for joyful music-making and deep listening that will inspire us

… which is perhaps what we all need at the moment. Welcome all!

Tickets are on sale. Don’t miss out!