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The Barbican Quartet ©Andrej Grilc
The Barbican Quartet ©Andrej Grilc
Amarins Wierdsma, Kate Maloney violin Christoph Slenczka viola Yoanna Prodanova cello
Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D major op20 no4
György Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1 (Métamorphoses nocturnes)
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in A minor op132
Programme Notes (also available free at concert)
Written at the height of his powers, the six string quartets of Haydn’s opus 20 string quartets are full of Sturm und Drang drive and power. However, the fourth, traditionally the most popular of the set, is something of an oasis of tunefulness with an expansive first movement, an expressively romantic slow movement and two closing movements making use of the Hungarian "gypsy" style with great wit and energy.
Composed in 1953–54 Ligeti's first quartet, in one continuous movement, is representative of what he called "the prehistoric Ligeti", referring to works he wrote before leaving Hungary in 1956. He described it thus: "In this First String Quartet there are certainly some characteristics of my later music, but the writing is totally different, “old-fashioned”; there are still distinct melodic, rhythmic and harmonic patterns and bar structure. It is not tonal music, but it is not radically atonal, either. The piece still belongs firmly to the Bartók tradition... with... some touches of Stravinsky and Alban Berg... but... I trust it is still a personal work".
Beethoven’s opus 132 string quartet, composed in 1825, less than two years before his death, encapsulates a world of emotions from anguish to joy. Its profoundly moving central slow movement, the Heiliger Dankgesang (Holy Song of Thanksgiving), describes his gratitude for recovery from serious illness while later movements recall aspects of his Ninth (Choral) Symphony.
The Barbican Quartet is an original voice on the international chamber music scene. Praised for their unique sound and character, as well as for intensely personal and intelligent performances, the Barbican Quartet celebrates the individual strengths of its members and at the same time forges these into a homogenous entity, exploring with fervour both the great string quartet repertoire as well as contemporary music.
The Barbican Quartet's founding members, Amarins, Christoph and Yoanna, met during their studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, while Kate joined in 2022. The name of the Quartet has a double significance: a “barbican” is a fortified outpost or gateway of a medieval city or castle, which the quartet members associate with their quest to discover, develop, but also to defend the tradition of string quartet playing. Furthermore, as the Quartet is closely connected to London, the name is a reminder that it was there at the Barbican Centre that they gave their inaugural concert in 2015. The Quartet now divides its time between London, Vienna and Munich.
The Quartet is a regular guest at international festivals such as Vibre! Quatuors à Bordeaux, Zeister Muziekdagen, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, the Peasmarsh Festival, IMS Prussia Cove and Aldeburgh. In September 2022, they won first prize at the 71st ARD International String Quartet Competition. They were also awarded the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work by Dobrinka Tabakova, the GEWA Prize, the Henle Urtext Prize and the Genuin classics CD production special prize. In June 2024 they released their debut CD, “Manifesto on Love”, on the Genuin label. The CD was also featured as album of the week on BR Klassik and NDR Kultur.
“The Barbican Quartet love to take risks in their playing and are not afraid to push boundaries. [...] Founded in 2014, the quartet has a distinctive style: with their very own sound, their emotional interpretations, but also in their programming.“ Marcus Stäbler in “Album der Woche”
Sun 13 Oct 2024 3.00pm
Little Missenden Church
£28, £20, £11
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