Performing in a string quartet setting, the renowned artist offers a selection of the composer’s lesser-known and distinctive pieces.
The Auditorio de Tenerife has scheduled Mendelssohn X Files as part of its Chamber Music Cycle next Thursday (February 26), at 7.30 p.m. This performance explores a rare and profoundly emotional compilation of pieces by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn. The programme, conceived by double bassist Uxía Martínez Botana, will be presented in a string quartet setting in the Chamber Hall.
Martínez Botana’s double bass will be heard alongside the viola of Noémie Bialobroda and the violins of Sergey Ostrovsky and Alexander Kagan. Mendelssohn X Files constitutes a commitment to the unknown, the unusual, and the intransigent nature of musical art.
Transformation is the most significant characteristic of human development. The same may be said of music. Leaving aside well-established conventions, the double bass is introduced in its purest form within the context of chamber music, specifically the string quartet. This marks a transformative shift in the art of bass interpretation. It affects diverse scenarios, including chamber music, solo performances, and orchestral contexts.
For the first time, these elements converge in Mendelssohn’s most emotive composition, Op. 80. This work is dedicated to the memory of his sister and reflects the composer’s deepest emotions after learning of her death. In contrast, the quartet provides the audience with another view of his emotional landscape. The Adagio of his Op. 44 captures a moment in his life marked by personal and professional achievements. These include his flourishing career, recent marriage, and the birth of his first son. The concert closes with a selection of the composer’s most ingenious and spirited pieces. These are taken from different stages of his career and gathered in his Op. 81.
Uxía Martínez Botana explains, ‘This project was inspired by my most intimate and demanding efforts in the art of playing the double bass. After recording this programme as an album, I dedicated it to the memory of my brother Denis and to my parents. My deepest gratitude goes out to Gidon Kremer, whose collaboration with Kremerata Baltica inspired this CD and taught me to push my limits as a bassist and musician constantly.’
The tickets can be purchased at a single price of €15 and €5 for audiences under 30 on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the auditorium’s box office, or by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check the special discounts for students, unemployed people and large families, among others.