Dvorák - Bagatelles Grainger - Youthful Rapture Richard Strauss - Songs Schumann - Piano Quintet in E flat major Johann Strauss II - Wein, Weib und Gesang arr. by Alban Berg for piano, harmonium and string quartet Featuring: Claire Surman soprano Viv McLean piano Benjamin Powell harmonium String Quartet: Katie Stillman violin Owen Cox violin Alex Mitchell viola Jessica Burroughs cello Our concert opens with stunning pieces by Dvorák and Percy Grainger, before a selection of sublime songs by Richard Strauss arranged for string quartet and soprano performed by the leader of our artistic team and award-winning soprano, Claire Surman, and a quartet led by the newly-appointed leader of the Orchestra of Opera North, Katie Stillman. The songs were written in 1885 and are among Strauss’s most well-known creations for the voice. We then welcome our Vice-President Viv McLean to perform Schumann’s stunning Piano Quintet in E flat which the composer wrote for his beloved wife, Clara Wieck in 1842, alongside the string quartet. The concert concludes with a Johann Strauss II waltz arranged by Berg for piano, harmonium and string quartet.