Carducci String Quartet
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Michelle Fleming – violin Eoin Schmidt–Martin – viola Emma Denton – cello “Their Wigmore recital suggested that the group is now very much the finished article – among the finest of the current exceptional crop of young British-based string quartets.” Andrew Clements - The Guardian The Carducci Quartet is recognised as one of today’s most exciting young string quartets. Based in the UK, the quartet holds residencies at Trinity College of Music in London, Cardiff University and at the Cork School of Music in Ireland. Regulars at London’s Wigmore Hall, they perform throughout the UK, including their own festival in Highnam, Glos. Winners of many competitions at home and abroad, the Anglo-Irish Carducci quartet has established an enthusiastic international following with over 90 concerts worldwide each year. In 2009-10 there were tours of Spain, Ireland, Colombia and the USA, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and of Australia. Other highlights have included appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Verbier, West Cork and Wratislavia Cantans Festivals. Among the highlights of 2011 were their appearance in July as the guest quartet at the Trasimeno Music Festival in central Italy, where they performed the Elgar Quintet with Angela Hewitt, founder and artistic director. They also gave the UK premiere of Arlene Sierra’s new quartet at the Cheltenham International Music Festival and undertook a tour of France and Spain. 2012 will be a very busy year with concerts throughout the UK, Ireland, Europe and the USA, including a concert in the Cheltenham International Festival with international guitarist Milos Karadaglic The Carducci Quartet’s success includes an Aldeburgh residency, broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, RTE Lyric FM and BBC television, a cycle of the complete Bartok quartets and a Naxos recording of the Philip Glass quartets. They have received wide critical acclaim for recordings on their own record label 'Carducci Classics', launched with a CD of Haydn Quartets. Other recordings include two world premiere recordings featuring C20th works by G. Whettam ('recording of the month' MusicWeb International) and J. Horovitz (‘beautifully crafted works…excellent performances’, BBC Music Magazine); also Vivaldi and Piazzolla with the Katona Twins Guitar Duo for Channel Classics. Their latest CD of Mendelssohn and Franck, under the Carducci Classics label, came out in October 2011 and was described by the Irish Examiner as ‘utterly compelling…a recording to treasure’. The quartet studied with members of the Amadeus, Alban Berg, Chilingirian, Takacs and Vanbrugh quartets and, as part of the ProQuartet professional training programme in France, with Gyorgy Kurtag, Walter Levin and Paul Katz. Passionate about taking classical music to the next generation, the Carducci Quartet runs chamber music courses for young musicians in the UK, France and Ireland. Their educational work includes performances for school children supported by their own trust, the Carducci Music Trust, the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust and West Cork Music. They also regularly coach on the National Youth String Quartet Weekend, run by the London String Quartet Foundation at Chetham’s School of Music. Some reviews: The Carducci’s understanding of the music and their technical excellence, plus the meticulous attention to balance and dynamics in this unashamedly emotional performance makes it a recording to treasure CD [of Mendelssohn’s Op 80 in F minor] …. The Carducci quartet’s passionate account is, I suspect, a remarkably authentic reading [of Franck’s string quartet in D major], one that brilliantly succeeds in revealing the riches of this fine work. There is no holding back in this performance, one in which phrasing, balance, and, above all, huge dynamic contrasts make this utterly compelling. It is a performance to listen to again and again. Declan Townsend – Irish Examiner It's tempting to ascribe the utter cohesion of the Carducci Quartet, its wonderful uniformity of tone and articulation, to the fact that the group is made up of two married couples. Violinist Matthew Denton leads with decisive elegance, but these players seem to breathe the music together. Mozart's String Quartet in D major k.499 set the standard for the concert. After a gambolling and brilliant Allegretto, the 'hocketing' texture at the beginning of the Minuetto was magical, and before the rallying finale, the players sank into a full-voiced and rich Adagio that was breathtakingly lovely. Catherine Nelson - The Strad Four years ago, the Carducci Quartet made a deep impression playing Dutilleux and Kurtág in the annual Park Lane Group Young Artists series. Since then, with residencies in Cork, Cardiff and at Trinity College of Music, their progress has been rapid, and their Wigmore recital suggested that the group is now very much the finished article – among the finest of the current exceptional crop of young British-based string quartets. Andrew Clements - The Guardian In the early-evening recital the Carducci String Quartet were stunning in the quicksilver mood changes and creepy atmosphere of Kurtag's Six Moments Musicaux, with its spooky harmonics and desperately sad, almost nihilistic, ending. They are clearly musicians of high intelligence. The Times All four members have a great musical and technical gift. It is a beautifully balanced quartet. Sigmund Nissel, Amadeus Quartet …playing of constant variety, a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose. The Strad ...technical rigour, penetrative musical insight and lively yet unified individualism... winning in every sense of the word... The Irish Times ...these quartets [by Philip Glass] have their own beguiling power... Admirably played by the Carduccis... The Observer ...this CD has some beautiful and moving inventions...The Carducci Quartet’s performances are a marvel of sensitivity, and the recorded sound has a lovely soft glow. Sunday Telegraph, **** Right Click and select Save As to download. 
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