11 concerts. 9 world-renowned string quartets. 14 masterclasses. Music written from 1783 - 2009. Archive film showings. Competitions. Talks. Improvisation and experimental music. Historic & beautiful surroundings. One weekend.
Come and experience the buzz of this and much more as Trinity College of Music celebrates many of the iconic works of the genre performed by some of its leading exponents. Includes the Endellion, Brodsky, Smith, Wihan & Allegri String Quartets performing Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Bartók, Shostakovich, Tippett & Reich. Festival Patron, Martin Lovett OBE, of the Amadeus Quartet.
Box Office 020 8463 0100Tickets also available on www.ticketweb.co.uk
Music journalist and BBC Radio 3 presenter Bob Cowan offers an introduction to the history of the string quartet.
Simon Holt - Two Movements for String QuartetJohn Corigliano - Snapshot: Circa 1909John Corigliano - A Black November TurkeyVaugh Williams - String Quartet No.1 in G minorElliott Carter - ElegyWilliam Marshall - String Quartet (World Premiere)
The Richard Carne Junior Fellows at Trinity College Music perform a programme of British and American music including a world premiere by young, British composer William Marshall.
Schubert - QuartettsatzHaydn - String Quartet Op.76 No.3Mozart - String Quartet K421 Beethoven - String Quartet Op.59 No.2 Renowned as one of the finest quartets in the world, the Endellion Quartet gives a recital of Classical masterpieces.
Aurelio Tello - Dansaq IIKeith Tippett - String QuartetElysian Quartet - Free Improvisation
One of the UK's most innovative young ensembles (and former Bulldog Junior Fellows at Trinity) gives a programme of contemporary, experimental and improvised music.
In this and other masterclasses student quartets from Trinity and other participating conservatoires and music schools are coached by the professional quartets taking part in the festival.
Shortlisted Trinity composers have their compositions performed by Brodowski Quartet. The audience will have the opportunity to cast its vote to select the winner of the Audience Prize.
Bartók - String Quartet No.2Bartók - String Quartet No.3
The winners of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and former Bulldog Junior Fellows at Trinity perform two of the most significant quartets of the 20th century.
Shostakovich - String Quartet 1 in C major, Op.49Shostakovich - String Quartet 8 in C major, Op.110 Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No.3 in Eb minor, Op.30
The Allegri Quartet is one of the oldest and most distinguished chamber ensembles in existence, going back to its foundation in the 1953. Here they give an all-Russian programme.
Schubert - String Quartet No.14 in D minor, D.810 ''Death and the MaidenMendelssohn - Octet in Eb, Op.20
Former Junior Fellows and recently appointed Quartet in Residence at Trinity, the Carducci Quartet are recognised as one of today's most exciting young string quartets. They perform Schubert's intense Death and the Maiden and are joined by the Brodowski Quartet for Mendelssohn's sparkling Octet.
Dvorák - String Quartet No.9 in D minor, Op.34Smetana - String Quartet No.1in E minorBrahms - String Quartet Op.51 No.2Trinity's longstanding Quartet in Residence, Prague's Wihan Quartet, performs a Romantic programme including two icons from their native repertoire.
Paul Barker - In Memoriam: For Those Who Fall in Times of War.This intensely moving work was commisioned by the pioneeringg Brodsky QUartet, Joan Enric Lluna and Arts Council England in 2004 and was inspired by the deaths one by one of three members of Sarajevo String Quartet during the war in Bosnia.Stravinsky - Three Pieces for String Quartet (1914)Stravinsky - Three Pieces for Clarinet SoloHoutaf Khoury - Gardens of Love (World Premiere)Paul Barker In Memoriam: For Those Who Fall In Times Of War
Ravel - String QuartetFranck - String QuartetThe second concert from the Carducci Quartet explores the unique sound world of the French repertoire.
Nominated quartets from British conservatoires will perform a 20 minute recital programme to include a classical movement, piece of their own choice and a set piece by Andrew Poppy commissioned specially for the competition.
Haydn - String Quartet Op.76 No.2, “Fifths”Wolf - Italian SerenadeWebern - Five MovementsLutoslawski - String QuartetSteve Reich - Triple QuartetYoung musicians from one of the country's leading specialist music schools give a programme spanning the entire history of the string quartet. They are joined by the Vardanyan Quartet, current Bulldog Junior Fellows at Trinity, for Reich's Triple Quartet.
Kevin Volans - White Man SleepsGeorge Crumb - Black AngelsAndrew Poppy - HatchSteve Reich - Different TrainsThe Smith Quartet is internationally acclaimed for its performances of contemporary repertoire. This eclectic programme of modern-day icons takes the audience from the hot South African plains of White Man Sleeps to the mystical soundscape of Black Angels, which not only invites the performers to use their instruments in unconventional ways but also sees them playing crystal glasses, gongs and speaking in different languages. Andrew Poppy's upbeat Hatch is followed by the powerful minimalism of Reich's haunting masterpiece Different Trains.
** Taking place at Trinity College of Music, throughout the festival there will also be the opportunity to experience two thought-provoking installations based around the theme of the string quartet. **
Installation for String Quartet by Dominic Murcott
The players sleep. We can glimpse their dreams. They even dream as an ensemble.
Created specifically for the Elysian Quartet, this interactive film installation is extracted from a larger multimedia performance piece first shown in 2005.
‘Bird Chamber’ from ‘As I Have Now Memoyre’ by Nicholas Brown
Four birds, in four, handmade bird boxes inside a polythene chamber, sing melodies from a string quartet. Last heard in the recent, sell-out performance of As I Have Now Memoyre at Kings Place.
