This intimate concert of music for strings features the music of Festival Curator Edmund Finnis, alongside gems such as Levi’s astonishing and richly textured quartet, Ligeti’s work for solo cello which lay unperformed for over 25 years before being rediscovered as a masterpiece, and Glass’s work which was used as incidental music for a 1983 New York production of Company by Samuel Beckett. The programme is completed with Stravinsky’s three quirky and contrasting miniatures.
Igor Stravinsky Three Pieces for String Quartet
Edmund Finnis Sister
Mica Levi You Belong to Me
Philip Glass String Quartet No.2 (Company)
György Ligeti Cello Sonata
Edmund Finnis String Quartet No.2 world premiere
String Quartet No. 2 by Edmund Finnis was co-commissioned by Manchester Collective and Spitalfields Music with the support of the New Music Commission Fund and RVW Trust.
We’ve been working with our wonderful friend from Thoroughly Good, Jon Jacob, on a series of podcasts for you to listen to pre (or post!) our events. We hope you enjoy listening!
Episode 1: What’s in the Spitalfields Festival 2021
Jon Jacob speaks to composers Errollyn Wallen, Edmund Finnis, Howard Goodall, and David Fennessey about their new works, including a tribute to those carers who lost their lives in the first wave of the COVID pandemic.
Episode 6: Composer Edmund Finnis on his Spitalfields Festival 2021 premieres
Edmund Finnis talks with careful consideration and precision. And those qualities are also reflected in his compositional process and his musical language. Jon Jacob speaks to the composer about his two premieres in the Spitalfields Festival 2021.