Esposito Quartet
Mia Cooper violin
Anna Cashell violin
Joachim Roewer viola
William Butt cello

Programme
Shostakovich Quartet No.4 in D major [1949]
Donnacha Dennehy ‘Wig’ [2020]
Franck Quartet in D major [1890]

Donnacha Dennehy’s ‘Wig’ was commissioned by the National String Quartet Foundation as a companion piece to Beethoven’s quartet Op.135. Entertaining and vital, as Donnacha’s music always is, it sits equally well on its own and is here surrounded by two lesser-known masterpieces. Shostakovich’s fourth quartet belongs to the group of works of Jewish inspiration that were in part a reaction to the murder of Jews in German-occupied Europe and in part a protest against the resurgent spirit of anti-Semitism apparent in Russia. Although the quartet was written in 1949, it was not felt safe to premiere it until 1953, after the death of Stalin. César Franck wrote his dramatic and powerful string quartet in 1890, the last year of his life.

Presented by the NCH in association with the National String Quartet Foundation.