ISOBEL LAMOND (Mezzo-Soprano)
THE HEWITT STRING QUARTET
THE twenty-fifth of the works which he wrote in this form, and the first of the set of three dedicated to the King of Prussia, Mozart's Quartet in D Major was composed at Vienna in 1789. It represents him at the height of his powers and needs only to be heard to bo enjoyed. And evidently His Majesty of Prussia was of this opinion too, since it is on record that immediately after the first performance of the work he sent to the composer in token of his appreciation a costly gold snuff-box containing one hundred Friedriehs d'or-a suitable exchange, as one may say, of gold for notes.
DEBUSSY'S Quartet in G Minor, the only work which he wrote in this form, dates from the year 1895, when he was just over thirty years old, and has of course long been recognized as one of his finest and most solid achievements. The movements to be played from it this afternoon are the two middle ones—the brilliantly effective Scherzo and the charming Andantino.