Francesca Dego & Alessandro Taverna + Pre-Concert Talk

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Italian-American violinist **Francesca Dego** is celebrated for her versatility, compelling interpretations, and flawless technique. **Alessandro Taverna** came to international prominence at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2009, when “Suddenly the world was suddenly suffused with grave beauty: flawless minutes of poetry”, said The Independent. We are delighted to welcome these star performers for their Conway Hall début. **Korngold** | Sonata in G Op.6 **Schoenberg** | Phantasy Op.47 **Strauss** | Sonata in E flat Op.18 Francesca Dego • *violin* Alessandro Taverna • *piano* \---------- **Pre Concert Talk with Robert Hugill • 5.30pm** Late romantic: The violin sonatas of Richard Strauss and Erich Wolfgang Korngold are both early works, and neither composer would devote much time to chamber music during their maturity. Yet listening to these works, it is hard not to have an inkling of the various directions that the Austro-German musical tradition might have taken. In fact, musical development in the early 20th century proved complex. Strauss's career would seem to have been set in the direction of Modernism, yet after his opera *Elektra* (1909) he seemed to step back. Korngold, a musical prodigy, seemed set to step into Strauss' shoes but the politics of the era meant that a temporary stay in America turned permanent and he found a new home writing for films. It would be left to Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School to carve a new path.