BBC Radio 3 Saint-Saëns's Circle: Nash Ensemble

The Nash Ensemble brings all its virtuosity and flair to music from fin-de-siècle Paris: sensuous, passionate, and sparkling with wit.

Elegance was as highly prized as eloquence in the salons of belle époque Paris; and when the champagne was flowing, sensuality was lightened by dazzling wit. Fauré’s Second Piano Quartet is the impassioned climax of this recital from the Nash Ensemble, but there’s laughter here, as well as longing, and two delicious virtuoso miniatures show Saint-Saëns at his most delightfully uninhibited. Music to amuse, as well as to seduce