Aroha Octet: Strings and Wind

The Aroha String Quartet have given us some wonderful concerts over the years, but this time they are not just a quartet. They will be joined by four additional musicians to give a rare performance of Schubert’s iconic Octet for Wind and Strings. 

To open the concert the quartet will play a Mozart’s String Quartet. K589 was composed for Mozart’s visit to King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia. The King was an amateur cellist which explains why Mozart gave such a prominent role to the cello in this work.

Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Serenata in vano for clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and double bass brings a total sound contrast and a touch of whimsy to the concert. It is a light-hearted work in a single movement, with three sections depicting the “vain” efforts of some musicians to serenade an uninterested young woman.

The Schubert Octet is a very substantial work with six movements, all of them brimming with warmth, charm and glorious melody. The opening and concluding movements are prefaced by introductory passages in slow tempo, and the middle movements include an adagio, scherzo, andante theme with variations and menuetto.