Hastings Chamber Music Festival: Felix Ensemble
Thu 23 Oct
|Christ Church St Leonards
Strauss Metamorphosen, Septet arr Shostakovich Piano Quintet A powerful exploration of transformation and resilience through the works of Strauss and Shostakovich.
Time & Location
23 Oct 2025, 19:00 – 21:00
Christ Church St Leonards, Silchester Rd, St Leonards, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN37 6GL, UK
About the event
Exploring Themes of Transformation
The Hastings Chamber Music Festival launch concert presents two powerful works that explore themes of transformation and resilience—fittingly marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Shostakovich, one of the 20th century’s most profound musical voices. Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen, performed in an intimate septet arrangement, offers a moving reflection on cultural devastation and personal loss. Composed during the final months of World War II, the work is often interpreted as Strauss’s elegy for a destroyed Europe—particularly the artistic and human values he saw being lost in the chaos.
In contrast, Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet, one of his most celebrated chamber works, combines vibrant energy with poignant introspection, blending humour and melancholy in a complex and compelling dialogue between piano and strings. Together, these pieces evoke both the turmoil and the hope that emerge from moments of great personal and societal upheaval, creating a captivating evening of…