Tchaikovsky’s monumental trio, heard on Monday, was composed ‘In memory of a great artist’, in reference to Nikolai Rubinstein, his close friend and mentor; following the elegiac chain, Rachmaninov was moved to write tonight’s work, commencing it the day he heard of Tchaikovsky’s death. Tchaikovsky had been a long-time supporter of the younger composer, and had been due to conduct the St Petersburg première of The Rock: in tribute, Rachmaninov quotes from this in the second movement.
Festival-goers will recall that we have had an association with Simon Rowland-Jones both as violist and as composer since our earliest years, so we look forward to hearing his Norwegian-inspired 2015 trio composed for tonight’s performers.
