Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Polina Leschenko & Reto Bieri

Patricia Kopatchinskaja performs with two of her cherished colleagues, clarinettist Reto Bieri and pianist Polina Leschenko, in a programme of 20th-century classics and contemporary adventures. Extracts from Kopatchinskaja’s own violin and clarinet duos Ghiribizzi open the programme. Next, Bartók’s Contrasts lights the way with edgy inventiveness. While George Enescu's suite takes you through his childhood impressions from a Romanian country morning to a stormy night and back to sunrise, Francis Poulenc's pieces for Jean Anouilh’s play Invitation au chateau (Invitation to the Castle) offer refinement, heart and soul. Music from Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat, a narrative about a violinist-soldier’s encounter with the devil, is the centrepiece of the second half. First there’s a new work by Kopatchinskaja, plus a taste of Milhaud. Finally Paul Schoenfield’s Clarinet Trio calls up the frenetic vitality, anguish and humour of klezmer, Jewish folk music from eastern Europe.