Photo: Eric Richmond
Brodsky Quartet
Representation: General Management
Daniel Rowland, violin
Ian Belton, violin
Paul Cassidy, viola
Jacqueline Thomas, cello
“The Brodsky Quartet are the team for the new century” Gramophone
The Brodsky Quartet is at the forefront of the international chamber music scene. Their love and mastery of the traditional string quartet repertoire is evident from their highly acclaimed performances of composers ranging from Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Tchaikovsky to Shostakovich, Bartok, Britten and Respighi, as well as from their extensive, award-winning discography.
The Quartet are widely celebrated for their pioneering work with a diverse range of performing artists, including singers Elvis Costello, Sting, Anne Sofie von Otter, Dawn Upshaw and Björk, instrumentalists Michael Collins, Joan Enric Lluna, Martin Roscoe, Alexander Baillie, Tunde Jegede, Complicite Theatre Company and Icelandic poet Sjon, while their many collaborations with distinguished composers, including Sir John Tavener, Witold Lutoslawski, Peter Sculthorpe, Django Bates, Sally Beamish, Dave Brubeck and Peter Maxwell Davies, have given them an unrivalled opportunity to influence and inspire some of the newest work for string quartet. Their passion to embrace "all good music" has been the driving force behind their success and has kept their approach fresh and their enthusiasm high since their formation in 1972.
2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the Brodsky Quartet and to celebrate this the quartet are planning some special programmes to reflect their long history together, including a unique and off-beat ‘lucky-dip’ event. The ‘Wheel of 4tunes’ will spin and come to a stop on one of a selection of 40 quartets from across their extensive repertoire, which they will perform; this will be repeated until a programme of ‘4tunes’ has been completed. Interspersed with informal background information and chat, this concert will offer an intimate insight into the group’s history and identity.
Other celebratory highlights include a return to their acclaimed Shostakovich Cycle at London’s, Kings Place; a birthday Wigmore Hall performance, as well as performances at Cheltenham, City of London, Beaminster, Galway and Newbury Festivals and at St George’s, Bristol; performances throughout Europe, including the Auditorio Nacional, Madrid and a tour of Japan; further collaborations with Willard White and Jacqui Dankworth; and educationally driven concerts performing both with, and for, children at festivals including Belgrade, Wimbledon and Beccles. Future highlights include a tour of the Netherlands and of Scotland and a return to Kings Place for a vocal collaboration mini-residency as well as a number of performances to commemorate the 2013 Britten anniversary.
2012 will also mark the beginning of a new and exclusive relationship with Chandos Records. Their first disc will be a celebratory album of ‘Encore’ pieces, arranged exclusively by the quartet for their anniversary. This new collaboration with Chandos will help add to their already huge and diverse discography. Recent awards for recording include the Diapason D'Or and the CHOC du Monde de la Musique for their recordings of string quartets by Britten, Beethoven and Janacek, whilst for their outstanding contribution to innovation in programming the Brodsky Quartet has received a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. They have taught at many international chamber music courses and held residencies in several music institutes, including the first such post at the University of Cambridge. They currently hold the International Chair of Chamber Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and have been awarded Honorary Doctorates at the University of Kent and University of Teesside.
The Quartet is named after the great Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, dedicatee of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto and passionate chamber musician, who played an important role in musical life in 1920s Manchester and at the Royal Northern College of Music where the Quartet studied.
Daniel Rowland plays a violin made by Lorenzo Storioni of Cremona in 1793; Ian Belton’s violin is by Gio. Paolo Maggini c.1615 and Jacqueline Thomas plays a cello made by Thomas Perry in 1785. Paul Cassidy plays on La Delfina viola, c. 1720, courtesy of Sra. Delfina Entrecanales.
Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to ensure that you receive the most up to date version.
Email: Kayleigh McGowan
