EIF 26: Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

Players from the Berliner Philharmoniker perform an elegant and intimate programme of 19th- and 20th-century chamber works.

As part of their International Festival residency, players from the Berliner Philharmoniker perform a delightful programme of chamber works from the 19th and 20th centuries. Piano, strings, clarinet and horn join forces for a memorable close of The Queen’s Hall series.

Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich added the rich sonorities of clarinet and horn to the traditional piano trio for his warmly lyrical Quintet in D, inspired by his love for librettist and critic Anežka Schulzová. Johannes Brahms’s soulful trio is one of his ‘autumnal’ late works, which masterfully intertwines the voices of clarinet, piano and cello.  

Finally, Ernst von Dohnányi’s colourful sextet was composed for the unusual combination of piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn. It was written in 1935 when the composer was bedridden with illness, circumstances which make its zest, energy and swagger seem even more astonishing. 

Presented by Edinburgh International Festival