Live music is coming back, and we’re really excited to present you with our first few ideas about what to go and see.
This one’s going to be great. Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin) and Huw Watkins (piano) playing in the Fidelio Orchestra Cafe in Clerkenwell.
the music
The duo are going to play two violin sonatas by Beethoven: No. 4 and No. 5. The whole programme is only about 40-45 minutes but, even in these two pieces by the same composer, there’s so much variety.
Have a listen to this beautiful section from the first movement of Violin Sonata No. 4. Listen out for how the music starts to swing, and the two instruments take turns to continue the phrase, eventually delicately interweaving their melodies:
It’s so gentle, but this music is ever changing - later on the piece is fiery and intense:
As with all Beethoven, there’s genius behind every phrase of this music. It’s worth listening to more of the music before you go and hear it live. With each listen it makes more and more sense.
The different ways Beethoven finds to combine the two instruments is so creative - it’s worth thinking about the different feelings you get when the two instruments are playing together, when they’re bouncing off each other, or when one is taking the limelight. Do you hear the two instruments as different characters, as a team making the sound, or a bit of both? Everyone will hear something unique to them, but nothing is there by accident. Listen to the rest of the two videos above with an open mind and see where the music takes you.
When really good musicians bring this music to life, they can bring their own vivid and exciting take on what Beethoven wrote. There’s joy, nostalgia, hope, wit and much more to be found in these sonatas, but it’s up to the people in front of you to bring all those emotions to life in their own way.
the performers
Tamsin Waley-Cohen and Huw Watkins are some of the best out there at the moment. When they announced that they were recording a set of Beethoven Violin Sonatas, Gramophone commented their ‘heart gave a little leap at the prospect of…a duo as engaging and intelligent as Waley-Cohen and Watkins’. You can be sure you’re in good hands.
the venue
The Fidelio Orchestra Cafe is an unusually intimate way to experience this kind of music, but… it looks expensive. Normal tickets cost between 80 and 100 quid so we wouldn’t usually even touch this kind of thing.
But we’re here to help.
We’ve done some digging, and discovered that if you are under-30, you can book a table where each person only pays £10, a fairly sizeable 90% off. They’ve raised money specially.
All you have to do is email info@fideliorchestra.art and say that you want to book a table for the Under-30s scheme. You can book table sizes of 2-4.
When you find out that the ticket price includes a fantastic three course meal and a drink on arrival, you might find yourself wondering whether it could possibly be real. We tried it. It is.