Every Note is Equal

Music in Europe changed forever at the end of the 17th century with a tuning system of ‘equal temperament’. Bach’s preludes and fugues were among the first to put flesh on the bones of this new system. Then it changed again at the beginning of the 20th century with a revolutionary new composing method that further equalised the 12 notes of the scale, and Anton Webern made poetry from this new musical democracy. Composed in the depths of the Second World War, Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet looks both back to Bach and forward to a brighter future.

Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 – Preludes and Fugues Nos 1 & 24 interspersed with

Webern: Piano Piece in C; Variations

Bach: The Art of Fugue arr quartet – Contrapunctus 1 & 4

Webern: Langsamer Satz

Interval

Shostakovich: Piano Quintet