Tue, December 15, 2026
Purcell, Haydn, Britten

Music with a nationalist flavor was fashionable in the 19th and 20th centuries. Composers such as Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius, Antonín Dvořák, and Ralph Vaughan Williams drew on themes and music from folk culture. Benjamin Britten found his own way to express national identity musically by intensively studying and drawing inspiration from the work of Henry Purcell; the best-known example is probably the Variations on a Theme by Purcell entitled "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra."

Just in time for the 250th anniversary of Henry Purcell's death on November 21, 1945, Benjamin Britten's String Quartet No. 2, which features numerous references to Purcell, was premiered. This is most evident in the third movement, entitled "Chacony." Its main theme, which is explored and transformed in 21 variations and four sections—first harmonically, then rhythmically, melodically, and finally formally—is based on Purcell's famous Chaconne in G minor, which took the "sweet" dissonances typical of English string music at the time to their extreme. Britten himself arranged this work for string orchestra in 1955. The Winterthur String Quartet juxtaposes both "Chaconys": Britten's original arrangement and his homage in string quartet.

In between, Haydn's String Quartet Op. 54/2 will be performed. Although composed more than three years before his first trip to London, its experimental form, which breaks with numerous conventions, fits perfectly into the program.

Program:
Henry Purcell/Benjamin Britten - Chacony in G minor, Z 730, arranged for string quartet by Benjamin Britten;
Joseph Haydn - String Quartet in C major, Op. 54/2
; Intermission;
Benjamin Britten - String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36

Ticket office (Mon–Fri, 9:30–13:30):
Stadthaus Winterthur, Stadthausstrasse 4a, CH-8400 Winterthur, Tel. +41 52 620 20 20, konzertkarten@musikkollegium.ch

Other ticket outlets
- Winterthur Tourism, Main Train Station, CH-8400 Winterthur
- Ticket Corner, all Swiss ticket outlets