Tetzlaff & Friends: String Duets & A Piano Trio

Duo. Grandeur. Fantasy. Virtuoso siblings Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff go large – and small – in a programme of dazzling duos for violin and cello. Plus pianist Kiveli Dörken joins for a wonderfully tuneful trio.

The Programme

Eight strings, four hands – but limitless possibilities. Zoltán Kodály wrote his Duo on the eve of the First World War; its flashing colours and wild Hungarian melodies hint at a much darker drama. And a living genius, Jörg Widmann, has reinvented the Duo in our own time: brilliantly cut musical jewels with facets beyond number. Add a piano and the result is a whole new world of melody and expression, never sounding more glorious than in this wonderfully tuneful trio by Dvořák.

The Performers

‘This is where we really do come in as interpreters’ says violinist Christian Tetzlaff – and it goes without saying that when he performs with his cellist sister Tanja, there’s a special intimacy and immediacy about the musical truths they discover. ‘It’s our job to draw you into music that speaks intimately about friendship and compassion and terrible things happening and wonderful things happening’ he says. Expect no compromise today.

‘Music multiplies all that is beautiful and valuable in life’ – Composer Zoltán Kodály

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3