Haydn, Brahms and Janáček: a string quartet taster menu in Durham

Richard Strauss' music has earworm qualities – this applies to his chamber music as much as his operas, as this evening with the Allegri Quartet proved.

Oxford’s Coffee Concerts are a perfect recipe for a slow-paced morning. Preceded by complimentary coffee in a nearby café or pub, the series brings chamber music to the historic Holywell Music Room and finishes in time to let the audience find a spot for Sunday lunch.

Hearing a work when the composer is in the audience always adds something to the occasion and the performance, and we’re fortunate in Durham that this seems to happen quite frequently. This evening’s concert by the Allegri String Quartet, held in the music department as part of the University’s Musicon series included the première of Anthony Payne’s String Quartet No.

The young Spanish violinist proves an ardent advocate for a work originally dismissed as a “Hollywood Concerto” as the BBC Symphony Orchestra closes its Barbican season.

Songs and symphonies from Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, concluding with a vision of “heavenly life” from Gustav Mahler. 

Come away fellow sailors, your anchors be weighing! All board the Cutty Sark for a semi-staging of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists.