RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet
Concert Reviews
Cadogan Hall, London 11&13 October 2010
"Had I confined myself to the superb first instalment of this Beethoven cycle, 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.
They have been before us for a quarter century and it has been salutary to watch their
progress over 22 of those years. Since 1998 the exceptional violist Simon Aspell has been
matched by another personality in second violinist Keith Pascoe. With Gregory Ellis and
Christopher Marwood taking care of the outer parts, they are a rare foursome.
The courage with which they held their slow tempos in the three chorales of the ‘Heiliger
Dankgesang’, passing motifs from player to player with absolute trust in each other, was
awe-inspiring and infinitely moving. One hears fewer good performances of op. 132 than of
any other quartet – and this was a great one. There was so much to savour: the amiable
exchanges in op.18 no.5, with humorously dogged touches in the trio of the minuet and a
lift to the finale; the stabbing opening to the scherzo of op.95; the arching phrases in
the Adagio of op.127; Marwood’s aristocratic cello in op.59 no.1. Ellis’s immaculate
leadership allowed for humour at many points.
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.
Tully Potter, The Strad January 2011
“It is a pity that Aldeburgh and Spitalfields festivals coincide, for both are imaginative, characterful entities that deserve
to be experienced as wholes. Each combines rootedness in a locality and musical tradition with a cosmopolitan
outlook and the assiduous cultivation of musical shoots. It was a delight, for instance, to catch the RTE Vanbrugh
Quartet playing Tippett and late Beethoven, with a work by the Irish composer Jane O’Leary, in the intimacy of
Wilton’s Music Hall, the most expressively dilapidated building in London.”
The Times
"A performance (of Bartok 3) of thrilling conviction ... In this masterly account (of Beethoven Op.127) the Vanbrugh
Quartet gave every indication of a second decade no less distinctive than its first."
The Times on the Vanbrugh Quartet's Tenth Anniversary Concert at the Wigmore Hall
"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
"Particularly excellent was their account of Dvorak's American Quartet, in which the blending and the ensemble was
outstanding, and the interpretation alive, original and interesting"
The Birmingham Post
"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
"As prelude, Mozart's D major Quartet K499 was played with the same alert response to every harmonic inflection,
whether in the suavity of the faster movements, or the tender lyricism of the adagio."
Glasgow Herald
"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, and succeeded in linking the abrupt changes of mood and the seemingly improvisatory
structure inside an uninterrupted sense of burning tension, as if conjuring up the images of a tortured mind ... In
confirmation of the quality of these players, and of their ability to adapt with ease to different composers and different
styles, there followed a limpid performance of Debussy's quartet, which, in the vivid clarity of its contours, and the airy
brilliance of its textures, came across more as a revelation of an original and modern poetic world than as a
prolonging of a turgid and affected Franck-inspired romanticism. The concert was greeted with the acclaim it
deserved, and finished to great applause with two magnificent encores by Beethoven and Haydn."
La Nazione
"The Vanbrugh Quartet's playing is refined and perfectly balanced; their sound is polished and even, yet full of
subtlety, growing to produce great power, and thinning to fine pianissimi; their rhythm is accurate and full of life, and
musical characters are clearly defined; energetic passage work and singing lines are equally under control ... 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 have a natural, engaging and unpretentious style, with a secure technique and an innate feel for
the natural ebb and flow of musical lines. Breathing as one, they regulate the dynamic and lyric tensions with a natural
grace."
The Washington Post
"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, the fast movements full of life ... The
Vanbrugh Quartet made a great impression with their energetic performance of Beethoven's F minor Quartet, Op 95,
which magnificently captured the "serioso" atmosphere of the work."
Aachener Volkszeitung
"The Vanbrugh Quartet opened the evening with Janacek's Quartet No.2, "Intimate Letters". Although the writing is
disciplined, it demands playing full of passion and of reckless waves. The Quartet gave total commitment to the
composer's wishes, and excelled in the creation of immense tension and excitement. For me it was the discovery of the
evening..." (Orlando Festival)
Limburgs Dagblad, The Netherlands
"Tempests continued in Beethoven's Op. 130, where the Vanbrugh String Quartet gave a vigorous interpretation of the
ruthless titan's savage genius: a wonderful achievement of strength and stamina. In comparison everything will seem
paltry."
Sydsvenska Dagbladet, Sweden
"A performance of beautiful sound quality that formed a perfect whole..."
Kainuun Sanomat, Finland
"The Vanbrugh Quartet's return visit to the Wigmore Hall on April 6 triumphantly affirmed their position as one of the
finest young quartets around... The Vanbrugh combines a unanimity of ensemble which can only come from long hours
of working together with the freshness of sound and spontaneity of interpretation that are their hallmarks"
The Strad, London and New York
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