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.

Viktoria Mullova is a superb soloist in Brahms' Violin Concerto, while an orchestra full of soloists play Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with Kahchun Wong presiding. 

In Dublin, Jean-Luc Tingaud and Louis Lortie bring clarity and purpose to two composers often ill at ease with the orchestra.

Kristiina Poska directs the RSNO in gripping Tchaikovsky and Pärt, but words and music only occasionally match in Elena Langer's new song cycle.