Fanfare: Mendelssohn, Strauss and Beethoven

The London Festival of Chamber Music launches with a showcase of youthful energy.

Mendelssohn and Strauss were teenagers when they wrote their Piano Sextet and first Horn Concerto respectively. Mendelssohn chose the unusual combination of two violas, cello and double bass alongside violin and piano, and with this dark, sumptuous palette he creates a rich symphonic soundscape.

Strauss’s concerto asks for a chamber-like interplay between orchestra and soloist. It’s the perfect showcase for Radovan Vlatković, whose beauty of tone and carefree virtuosity see him regarded as the finest horn player of his generation.

Beethoven’s second symphony closes the concert, brought to life through the new generation musicians of Sinfonia Smith Square. Nabil Shehata is at the helm, a conductor whose approach is informed by a lifetime of chamber music making.