Igor Stravinsky’s Octet opens the program, a fantastic composition that links the second and third movements without a break – a testament to the genius of one of the 20th century’s most influential composers. Leoš Janáček’s Mládí (Youth), completed in the early 1920s, shows the emergence of the Czech composer from his “youthful mood” to a more mature and experimental artist. Max Bruch’s Octet in B-flat major, one of his last works, expresses the late Romanticist’s hope of renewed health for his nation and his person.
