To the main content To the footer
© Nichon Glerum

Ragazze Quartet & Thomas Beijer

Chamber music by Mozart and Chausson
Small Hall on Sunday
Sun 27 Apr ’25 12:00 uur
Sun 27 Apr ’25
12:00 uur
  • Sun 27 Apr ’25
    12:00 uur
    Small Hall
    Add to cart
  • A drink is included in the price

The Stalin Prize. 100,000 rubles. Although Dmitri Shostakovich was certainly no friend of dictator Josef Stalin, he accepted this gesture from the regime nonetheless. After all, one must live as a composer. The prize was awarded for his Piano Quintet, completed in November 1940. It marked a new high point in his body of work and is now one of his most beloved scores. The musicians we seek are close to home: the Dutch Ragazze Quartet and the Dutch multi-talent but tonight 'only' pianist Thomas Beijer.

On August 8, 1941, Germany broke the non-aggression pact with Russia and the first air raids took place. Sergei Prokofiev and other 'artistic workers' were evacuated to the south in four buses. Prokofiev ended up in Nalchik, the capital of the autonomous Soviet state of Kabardino-Balkaria at the foot of the Caucasus. The war was no joke but it took him to new places. There, he encountered an enthusiastic personality: a member of the local art committee enthusiastically presented him with a collection of Kabardian songs: 'Why don't you make a string quartet out of this?' And so Prokofiev did, and the Second String Quartet, full of exotic sounds, came into being. The Ragazze Quartet is in good hands; it is one of the freshest and most influential ensembles in classical music. After the intermission, Thomas Beijer joins them. 'Thomas Beijer is a dreamer with poetry and passion' (De Nieuwe Muze).


After the concert

After the concert, you will enjoy serve a cup of coffee or tea with a delicious treat. This is included with your ticket.

Part of

Programme

Prokofiev - String Quartet No. 1
Shostakovich - Piano Quintet

Small Hall on Sunday

The perfect start to a leisurely Sunday