Nara Quartet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Piano Quartet No.2, K.493 (Mozart)

i Allegro
ii Larghetto
iii Allegretto

Mozart received a commission for three quartets in 1785 from the publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister. Hoffmeister thought the G minor Quartet (K. 478) was too difficult and that the public would not buy it, so he released Mozart from the obligation of completing the set. Nine months later, Mozart composed this quartet anyway, completing it on 3 June 1786.

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

Piano quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 (Fauré)

i Allegro molto moderato
ii Scherzo: Allegro vivo
iii Adagio
iv Allegro molto

Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1, in C minor, Op. 15, is one of the two chamber works he wrote for the conventional piano quartet combination of piano, violin, viola and cello. Despite being in a minor key it is predominantly positive in tone, though with some hints in the slow movement of the emotional turmoil of Fauré’s life at the time of the composition. The first piano quartet is considered one of the three masterpieces of his youth, along with the first violin sonata and the Ballade in F♯ major. It was favourably received at its premiere in 1880, and was among the chamber works for which he had been awarded the Prix Chartier by the Académie des BeauxArts in 1885. He later wrote a second work in the form.

Performers

Nara Quartet (Piano Quartet)

• John Kane - Violin
• Jane Kane - Viola
• Virginia McMurtrie - Cello
• Ikuko Inoguchi - Piano

Ikuko Inoguchi
Dr. Ikuko Inoguchi is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, performer-scholar, musicologist and teacher. Born in Japan she has also studied in the US and the UK. Ikuko is particularly interested in exploring repertoire which displays cross-cultural influences. A recital she gave in Germany was praised as “Ikuko Inoguchi —a brilliant pianist, whose playing demonstrates subtle sonority and fascinating colourful tones” (Der Kessener).

As a prize-winning pianist, Ikuko has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in concert series and festivals across Europe, the US, and Asia and at prestigious venues, such as St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Aichi Art Theatre in Japan, Takemitsu-Kurosawa Festival in Würzburg, and 1st International Music Festival “Doctors in Performance” in Helsinki. In 2013 she made her London concerto debut, performing Anton Rubinstein’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the City University Symphony Orchestra.