Elias String Quartet
(String Quartet)
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Elias String Quartet
(String Quartet) Biography:
"The Elias is the best young quartet I have come across in years." Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 6th December 2009 Sara Bitlloch violin, Donald Grant violin, Martin Saving viola, Marie Bitlloch celloWinners of a 2010 Borletti-Buitoni Award The Elias String Quartet take their name from Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah (Elias in its German form) and have quickly established themselves as one of the most intense and vibrant quartets of their generation. The Quartet was formed in 1998 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where they worked closely with the late Dr. Christopher Rowland. They also spent a year studying at the Hochschule in Cologne with the Alban Berg quartet. Other mentors in the Quartet’s studies include Hugh Maguire, György Kurtág, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Henri Dutilleux and Rainer Schmidt. The Quartet’s 2009/10 season began with a residency at the Wigmore Hall in which they are exploring Schubert’s late chamber music for strings. They have been chosen to participate in BBC Radio 3's prestigious New Generation Artists’ scheme and are the recipients of a 2010 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. In April 2010, their disc of Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert on the Wigmore Hall Live label was given the BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award. Other highlights of the season have included a month long tour of Australia, their first visit to Italy with cellist Alice Neary and a cycle of Mendelssohn’s Chamber Music at King’s Place, London. They are looking forward to their debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, a week long tour in Europe with pianist Jonathan Biss, appearances at The Sage Newcastle, Bridgewater Hall Manchester and the City of London, Cheltenham and East Neuk Festivals. Future projects also include their Carnegie Hall debut and a complete cycle of the Beethoven quartets. They have performed alongside artists such as Andrew Marriner, Jonathan Biss, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Ralph Kirshbaum, Alice Neary, Joan Rogers, Mark Padmore, Roger Vignoles, Michel Dalberto, Peter Cropper, Bernard Gregor-Smith, Ettore Causa, Timothy Boulton, Robin Ireland, Adrian Brendel, Anthony Marwood and with the Endellion and Vertavo Quartets. The Quartet received second prize and the Sidney Griller prize at the 9th London International String Quartet Competition in 2003 (as the Johnston String Quartet) and were finalists in the Paolo Borciani Competition in 2005. For four years they were resident String Quartet at Sheffield’s “Music in the Round” as part of Ensemble 360, taking over from the Lindsay Quartet. The Ensemble has released discs by Mozart, Beethoven and Spohr with Sanctuary Classics and Nimbus. The Quartet’s debut recording of Mendelssohn quartets for Sanctuary Classics received wide acclaim. Their performance of the Op. 80 quartet was chosen as best recording on BBC Radio 3's ‘Building a Library’ in September 2009. The most current release on the Sonimage label is Britten’s String Quartetes Nos. 2 and 3 and three divertimenti, which is receiving critical praise across the board. Their disc recorded live at the Wigmore Hall for the Wigmore Live label, has received outstanding reviews. They have also released a disc of French harp music with harpist Sandrine Chatron for the French label Ambroisie and Goehr’s Piano Quintet with Daniel Becker for Meridian Records. This biography is for website use only. For a full and updated biography please email info@ingpen.co.uk Contact Details: Territories: Artist Links: |
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