The Glasshouse

Royal Northern Sinfonia

Holst Wind Quintet
James Macmillan Clarinet Quintet ‘Tuireadh’
Mozart String Quintet No.4

Take a string quartet, add one extra player, and something magical happens. Mozart played the viola himself, so it’s no surprise that his G minor String Quintet contains some of the most intimate and poignant music even he ever wrote. James MacMillan, on the other hand, added a clarinet and suddenly found himself in a realm of ancient Celtic laments and calling seabirds: his Tuireadh is an unforgettable requiem for 1988’s Piper Alpha disaster. The programme opens with another British work and another quintet, this time comprising five wind instruments, playing the gentle, warm and lyrical Wind Quintet by Gustav Holst.