Chamber Sextets and Octet by Spohr, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky With The Sydney Omega Ensemble

Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1890. From the Tchaikovsky House Museum, Klin.

Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House: 8 July, 2012

Spohr – Octet in E major, op. 32
Beethoven – Sextet in E flat, op. 81b
Tchaikovsky – String Sextet in D minor ‘Souvenir de Florence’ op. 70

The Sydney Omega Ensemble
Emily Long – violin
Katie Betts – violin
Stuart Johnson – viola
Jacqui Cronin – viola
Rowena Macneish – cello
Timothy Nankervis – cello
Euan Harvey – horn
Rachel Silver – horn
David Rowen – clarinet
Ben Ward – double bass

Stepping down a semitone at a time starting from Spohr’s E Major, seeming to gravitate to the famous Tchaikovsky sextet in D Minor, this group of young musicians brings quite an ambitious program. Despite some uneven playing of the first piece, they became stronger and stronger to give a very satisfying take on the last.

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review, an international journal for the arts!