Summer String Quartet: Celebrating History
Date: Saturday 22nd June 2024
Time: 7.15pm - 9.30pm
Adult: £20
Child: £12.50
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Due to an injury from one of the musicians, this event has been cancelled. Ticket-holders, please check your emails for information on refundds.
Back by popular demand, four internationally acclaimed musicians unite for a very special Summer String Quartet.
Featuring the iconic works of four celebrated composers throughout musical history, the musician’s unique styles and will breathe new life into these masterpieces.
The four musicians hail from the Benyounes, Piatti and London Piano Quartets, and have collaborated for almost two decades.
Programme
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
An exemplary example of classical string quartet writing of the finest order. Mozart was the infamous contemporary to Joseph Bologne, whose composition is also featured as part of the evening’s programme.
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Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904)
Dubbed the American Quartet, this is a hugely popular staple in chamber music performances.
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Joseph Bologne (1745-1799)
Made famous by the recent Disney movie Chevalier, Joseph Bologne was a contemporary to Mozart and has historically been overlooked as a composer. Born to a Senegalese mother who was enslaved and a White father who was a plantation owner, Bologne grew up to join the ranks of high French society as a soldier, an athlete, a musical genius and later a revolutionary.
Also known as the Chevalier de St. George, Bologne’s String Quartet No. 1 is an exemplary work of classical string quartet composition.
Find out more about the Chevalier de St George on hit BBC podcast You’re Dead To Me or on BBC Ideas.
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George Walker (1922-2018)
The first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, George Walker wrote nearly 100 compositions before his death in 2018. One of the great American composers, his creations were influenced by the music of African American spirituals and jazz.
Walker’s lush masterpiece Lyric for Strings is a beautiful lament to honour his enslaved grandmother.
George Walker was a man of many firsts - the first Black graduate of the Curtis Institute, the first Black pianist to perform a solo recital at New York’s Town Hall, and the first Black soloist to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Find out more about his incredible life.
Gallery
About the Artists
Zahra Benyounes, Emily Holland, Sara Roberts and Jessie Ann Richardson (members of the Benyounes, Piatti and London Piano Quartets) have been performing together in various guises over the last 15 years, delighting audiences with their perfect synergy and musical interpretations. Their wide ranging experience has brought them to international chamber music festivals, some of the finest concert halls across the world, and collaborations with internatonal artists such as Max Richter and Michael Kiwanuka.
Zahra plays on a 1682 Nicolo Amati kindly made available to her from the Boucher Trust. Sara plays on a beautiful French viola circa 1880. Jessie plays a Celoniatus Cello made made in 1741 around Turin, kindly lent to her by a patron of the Beares International Violin Society.
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A regular principal of the pioneering Chineke! Orchestra, Zahra has lead the orchestra at the BBC Proms 2021, performed alongside Skip Marley, Grace Kelly and appears on the soundtracks to the Disney movie Chevalier. Other recent soundtracks include Barbie, The Matrix Resurrections and Wakanda Forever recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
In 2021 Zahra lead the Chineke! Orchestra in reopening the Royal Festival Hall, and later at the BBC Proms. She is a member of the 12 Ensemble – London's trail blazing un-conducted string orchestra and performs with John Wilson's Sinfonia of London.
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Emily Holland has performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall, Het Concertgebouw as 2nd violinist of the Piatti Quartet. As well as performing classical chamber music at the highest level, she is in demand as a session musician; highlights include recording for Taylor Swift, performing with Goldfrapp at the Royal Albert Hall and appearing on the soundtrack of the recent DC blockbuster The Flash.
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Violist Sara Roberts, founding member of the Benyounes Quartet is in demand as a recording, chamber and orchestral musician and has held a posititon in London's Philharmonic Orchestra since 2021.
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Multiple prize-winner and seasoned recording artist French cellist Jessie Ann Richardson has thrilled audiences with her virtuoso and sensitive musicianship. A founding member of the Piatti Quartet, she is regularly heard on BBC Radio 3. Jessie performs with the London Symphony Orchestra and is a longstanding member of the John Wilson Orchestra.
Event Information
Duration: 2 hours including interval
Age Guidance: 5+
Please e-mail us ahead of the day to ensure we are aware of and can facilitate any access needs
Latecomers will not be admitted into the performance.