The RTÉ Vanbrugh QuartetResident string quartet to Radio Telefis Eireannartists in residence to University College Cork Gregory Ellis - violin Keith Pascoe – violin Simon Aspell – viola Christopher Marwood - cello 
Awe-inspiring and infinitely moving… the kind of experience one encounters on only a few
occasions in a lifetime… only one or two ensembles in the world plumb such depths. These
were among the reactions of Strad magazine to the Vanbrugh Quartet’s twenty-fifth
anniversary Beethoven cycle at London’s Cadogan Hall in November 2010. Winners of the
1988 London International String Quartet Competition, the Vanbrugh Quartet is
internationally recognised for its beauty of sound, clarity of texture and integrity of
interpretation within an unusually wide and varied range of repertoire. Familiar
visitors to all the main UK festivals, the Vanbrugh Quartet also broadcasts frequently
for BBC Radio 3 and performs regularly at London’s Wigmore Hall and South Bank.The Quartet enjoys a thriving international career with past appearances including concerts in Berlin (Konzerthaus), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hungary (Liszt Academy), Poland (Lancut Festival), Spain (Galicia Festival), Flanders Festival, Menuhin Festival, Gstaad plus numerous visits to Scandinavia where recordings were made of the complete Beethoven quartets. The quartet tours the USA on a regular basis with performances in Carnegie Hall, New York and The Kennedy Centre in Washington. 
Based in Cork as Resident Quartet to Radio Telefis Eireann, Ireland's national broadcasting
service, the members of the Quartet are also Artists in Residence to University College,
Cork, and founders of the internationally acclaimed West Cork Chamber Music Festival. In
April 2005 the Quartet hosted European Quartet Week as part of Cork’s tenure as European
Capital of Culture.The Vanbrugh Quartet’s critically acclaimed discography of some twenty-five CDs includes the complete Beethoven quartets as well as premiere recordings of music by Luigi Boccherini and Charles Villiers Stanford. Other releases include Metronome’s second CD devoted to the music of Piers Hellawell, a Black Box release of Ian Wilson's first three quartets and a recording for Hyperion of works by John Tavener. Highlights of 2012 will include a Wigmore Hall concert, a tour of Spain and further Beethoven cycles. Some extracts from reviews: Had I confined myself to the superb first instalment of this Beethoven cycle [at the Cadogan Hall, London, October 2010] I would have missed something even more special. The way the Vanbrugh players immersed themselves in the ‘Heiliger Dankgesang’ of the A minor Quartet op. 132 was the kind of experience one encounters on only a few occasions in a lifetime….. My endearing memory is of the heroic vindication of human will expressed in the slow movements. Only one or two ensembles in the world plumb such depths. The Strad January 2011 The Vanbrugh can boast not only technical security and a marvellous unanimity of intent, but also a remarkable insight into the music they play ... a performance full of deft strokes of light and shade, its tempos beautifully judged and its rhythms charged with buoyancy. The Times In Beethoven's second Razumovsky Quartet, the qualities of precision, rapport, spontaneity and well-judged instrumental balance all seemed to come together in a performance of arresting rhythmic vibrancy and sustained lyrical eloquence. The Daily Telegraph The Vanbrugh Quartet played Debussy with scrupulous attention to the whirring under-rhythms which allow the melodies to float and fly - and Bartok, the frightening, grinding third quartet, which they made sound brave, tough and rippled with risk. The Scotsman A group that is without a doubt one of the best around ... The Vanbrugh's qualities of unanimity and insight were evident in their performance of Haydn's Quartet Op. 76/1 which opened the evening. A warm-hearted and spirited reading ... and of Janacek Quartet no 2 ... The Vanbrugh Quartet completely captured the spirit of visionary exaltation of this unique work. La Nazione The Vanbrugh Quartet's playing is refined and perfectly balanced ... one of the most charming performances of the (Kuhmo) festival: the elegant precision of the musicians created a fascinating feeling of life in the work, and a joyful momentum ... the whole timbre of the Vanbrugh Quartet was the most beautiful we have heard so far in the festival. Helsinki Sanomat The four members of the Vanbrugh are perfectly balanced both musically and temperamentally and form a perfect unity. Their superb musicality, above all, gives their playing urgency and depth. Der Bund, Switzerland The Vanbrugh Quartet were in quite sensational form for a performance of overwhelming expression and almost unparalleled excitement of Janacek's Second String Quartet ... that the Vanbrugh have just as much to offer when it comes to the less emotionally charged Viennese classics was proved in their performance of the G major quartet by Haydn, which was extremely refined, and at the same time most expressive. Aachener Volkszeitung CD Reviews Concert Reviews Discography Sample Sounds |