Human desire rears its head in twin peaks of Romantic music. One is the great sextet which begins Strauss's last opera Capriccio, a duel between an composer and a poet for the love of a Countess; the other (Transfigured Night) is a rapturous avowal of love by a couple walking in the moonlight, written long before Schoenberg turned music upside-down with his twelve-tone 'system'. Between them we hear one of our composer-in-residence Thomas Adès' most-acclaimed works, which is also based on transfiguration – in this case, on old music remade into new.

Richard Strauss String sextet from Capriccio
Thomas Adès Alchymia for clarinet quintet
Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) for string sextet

Artists: Julian Arp, Alena Baeva, Sascha Bota, Claude Frochaux, Tetiana Lutsyk, Priya Mitchell, Brian O’Kane, Annette Walther

Every year the Oxford Chamber Music Festival brings together some of the most exciting classical musicians in Europe to live and play together for a week. Creative sparks fly as the players exchange musical partners and tackle the widest variety of sound-worlds.

“a musical miracle” - Daily Telegraph; “world-class by any standards” Time Out

With this year’s special 25th anniversary festival we hope to create a musical Eden in an increasingly troubled world. We celebrate in sound the glories of nature's garden; explore the music of innocence and of human desire; and offer works which suggest the drama of the Fall, and the journey back to a state of spiritual grace.

Wheelchair Spaces

If you require a wheelchair space for this event, please call 01865 305 305 or email boxoffice@oxfordplayhouse.com for further assistance.