Oxford Chamber Music Festival – Gypsy Heart
This year’s Oxford Chamber Music Festival celebrates Freigeist – free spirits and untamed hearts – in unpredictable music that refuses to play by the rules. For the full festival programme, venues and list of musicians, see OCMF.
Gypsy Heart
Haydn ‘Gypsy rondo’ from Piano trio No. 37 in G major
Brahms Hungarian Dances (selection) for violin and piano and for piano duet
Dvořák Gypsy songs, Op. 55 – My song sounds of love; Songs my mother taught me; The string is tuned.
Brahms Piano quartet in G minor, Op. 25
Impulsive, flamboyant and soulful, Gypsy music and musicians have been the toast of central Europe for centuries. So addictive was their style that Haydn could not resist putting a gypsy rondo into an otherwise delicate piano trio. Later, Dvořák’s Gypsy songs, including Songs my mother taught me, passionately declared both freedom and music to be basic human needs. In between, Brahms – who soaked up the music from his friend the gypsy violinist Remenyi – had worldwide hits with his Hungarian Dances, and took the style to incandescent heights in the wild finale of his piano quartet.
Photograph by featured artist Julian Arp, who is also performing as a cellist in the festival.