From the French ‘of the night’, nocturne refers to music inspired by, or composed to be enjoyed, in the mysterious stillness of the late hours.

While the night is often associated with fear or foreboding, this program finds us shrouded in warm and misty tones of dark purple. Here, the night is a refuge and a place of quiet wonder.

The atmosphere is set with the B major Nocturne from Dvořák’s opus 40, an unhurried, meditative work in a single movement. This piece is infused with a deep sense of calm and serenity, even as it ebbs and flows.

Our centrepiece is Borodin’s much-loved String Quartet No. 2 in D major, written for his wife, Ekaterina Protopova. This charming, elegant work builds to the famous Notturno third movement, which soars with deeply felt lyricism.

This program also features the first live performance of Sally Greenaway’s The Sky is Also Yours, a moving reflection on pandemic isolation commissioned for the CSO’s 2021 Digital Series. There’s a spacious, expansive quality to this work as the rich earthiness of four double basses drifts weightlessly upwards.

Artist

CSO Chamber Ensemble

Repertoire

Antonín Dvořák Nocturne in B major, op. 40
Sally Greenaway The Sky is Also Yours | CSO 2021 commission
Alexander Borodin String Quartet No. 2