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PRESS RELEASE
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For further information, photographs, video and audio links
please contact John Hill RRM Press and Digital 07813 110462
[email protected]
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The Brodsky Quartet come to town - 19 May 2015
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Roman River Music and Mercury Theatre Colchester host the fabulous Brodsky Quartet on
19 May 2015, in a celebration of classical music rarely heard in the region.
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The Brodsky’s achingly beautiful performance reached deep into the heart. The Guardian
The playing was immaculate; the four musicians thinking as one. Classical Source
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Tickets are selling fast for Roman River Music’s first collaboration with the Mercury Theatre
Colchester; a concert by the amazing - and many would say, world-leading - chamber
ensemble, The Brodsky Quartet on Tuesday 19th May 2015. Roman River Music are
advising music lovers and fans to book early.
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Beethoven String Quartet in G Major Op.18, No 2
Zemlinsky String Quartet No. 4, Op. 25
Schubert String Quartet in D minor, D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
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Don’t expect black stuffy evening suits or formal lighting - and you can applaud whenever
you feel like it. This will be like no other classical recital. The Mercury are building a special
screen to help project the verve and passion of the acclaimed Brodsky Quartet’s performance
to surround the audience and fill the auditorium of the Mercury Theatre
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The Brodsky Quartet uniquely combine a performing career at the top international level
with a thirst for genre-bending collaborations with the likes of Elvis Costello, Jacqui
Dankworth, Tunde Jegede and Bjork. They have toured the great concert halls of
Europe, Australasia and North and South America, and continue to expand their incredible
discography of over 60 CDs.
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Since their formation in 1972 the Brodsky Quartet have performed over 2000 concerts on
the major stages of the world and released more than 50 recordings. A natural curiosity and
insatiable desire to explore has propelled the group in many artistic directions and continues
to ensure them not only a place at the very forefront of the international chamber music
scene but also a rich and varied musical existence.
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Their energy and craftsmanship have attracted numerous awards and accolades worldwide,
while ongoing educational work provides a vehicle for passing on experience and staying in
touch with the next generation.
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www.brodskyquartet.co.uk
www.romanrivermusic.org.uk
Extended biography
Since its formation in 1972, the Brodsky Quartet has performed over 3000 concerts on the
major stages of the world and has released more than 60 recordings. A natural curiosity and
an insatiable desire to explore has propelled the group in a number of artistic directions and
continues to ensure them not only a prominent presence on the international chamber music
scene, but also a rich and varied musical existence. Their energy and craftsmanship has
attracted numerous awards and accolades worldwide, while ongoing educational work
provides a vehicle for passing on experience and staying in touch with the next generation.
Throughout their 40-year career, the Brodsky Quartet has enjoyed a busy international
performing schedule, and has toured extensively throughout Australasia, North and South
America, Asia, South Africa, and Europe, as well as performing at many of the UK’s major
festivals and venues. The quartet is also regularly recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio. Over
the years the Brodsky Quartet has undertaken numerous performances of the complete
cycles of quartets by Schubert, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Schoenberg, Zemlinsky,
Webern and Bartok. It is, however, the complete Shostakovich cycle that has now become
synonymous with their name: their 2012 London performance of the cycle resulting in them
taking the prestigious title of ‘Artist in Residence’ at London’s Kings Place.
The Brodsky Quartet also have a busy recording career, and 2012 marked the beginning of a
new and exclusive relationship with Colchester’s own Chandos Records. Releases on the
label so far include Petits Fours, a celebratory album of ‘Encore’ pieces, arranged exclusively
by the Quartet for their 40th anniversary; a Debussy compilation including the Quartet's
long-awaited recording of the great Debussy Quartet; In the South featuring works by Verdi,
Paganini, Wolf and Puccini; New World Quartets comprising works by Dvorak, Copland,
Gershwin and Brubeck; the first of two Brahms discs, which includes the iconic Clarinet
Quintet with collaborating partner, Michael Collins, and the complete quartets of Zemlinsky.
Recent awards for recordings include the Diapason D'Or and the CHOC du Monde de la
Musique for their recordings of string quartets by Britten, Beethoven and Janacek, and, for
their outstanding contribution to innovation in programming, the Brodsky Quartet have
received a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. They have taught at many international
chamber music courses and held residencies in several music institutes, including the first
such post at the University of Cambridge. They are currently International Fellows of
Chamber Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and have been awarded Honorary
Doctorates at the University of Kent and University of Teesside.
The Quartet is named after the great Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, dedicatee of
Tchaikovsky's violin concerto and a passionate chamber musician.
Daniel Rowland plays a violin made by Lorenzo Storioni of Cremona in 1793; Ian Belton’s
violin is by Gio. Paolo Maggini c.1615 and Paul Cassidy plays on La Delfina viola, c.1720,
courtesy of Sra. Delfina Entrecanales. Jacqueline Thomas plays a cello made by Thomas
Perry in 1785.
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Reviews
‘…the Brodsky Quartet reminded us the medium can be red in tooth and claw – and that the
great works of Beethoven and Bartók defy familiarity…in Bartók’s snarling Fifth Quartet,
wave upon wave of rhythmic energy slicing across the group. After exquisitely-rendered
nocturnal fluttering in the ‘Adagio’, the players hit on the visceral dance groove of the
‘Scherzo alla bulgarese’, the quartet’s fiery heart.
…(In the Beethoven) a penetrating unity of vision brought the central ‘Andante’ into
remarkable focus, every phrase cherished and poised. They injected just the right degree of
whirling madness into the breezy ‘Presto’, with its pizzicato ricochets, and ended with a
ferocious ‘Allegro’, overriding any sense of an engine running on empty.’
Helen Wallace, BBC Music Magazine, December 2014
‘Shostakovich’s string quartets have long been a cornerstone of the Brodsky Quartet’s
repertoire, but the Royal West of England Academy’s exhibition, Shock and Awe - a
reflection on conflict, provided an unusually potent setting… There was a visceral sense of
Shostakovich’s tussling with moral and philosophical questions, and in this artistic context
their contemporary dimension could not fail to add a sobering element to the performance.
The Brodsky’s ability to communicate on so many levels - humanity and virtuosity all part of
the essential integrity of their approach – promises to make this a memorable cycle.’
Rian Evans, The Guardian, September 2014
‘The Brodsky Quartet, now in its forty-first year as an ensemble, began this BBC Lunchtime
Concert performance of Beethoven’s Opus 95 in the only way possible, on the front foot. The
playing was immaculate; the four musicians thinking as one… Throughout, the musicians
caught Beethoven’s changes of mood, the alternations between graceful and grave, and the
vigorous finale was worked through to a coda that scurried off brilliantly.’
Ben Hogwood, ClassicalSource.com, June 2013
‘Throughout, the players gave unstintingly of their passion and energies, playing with a spirit
so transformational you felt they were actually improving the world. Had it not been for dry
concert conventions, they would surely have called a lock-in and played through the night.’
Edward Bhesania, The Strad, October 2012
‘...The Brodskys explore the expressive parameters and sonic potentialities of Ravel's
glorious String Quartet to an unrivalled degree. ...Spellbinding and revelatory. ...One of the
string quartet discs of 2010.’
Julian Haylock, The Strad, November 2010
‘...Elegant restraint, contemporary without forcing the point, and fervent to an extent that all
you want to do when the disc ends is play it again.’
Norman Lebrecht CD of the Week, August 2010
‘Performing the complete cycle of [Shostakovich's] 15 quartets over two days, the Brodsky
Quartet displayed total certainty in the trajectory of the journey...this supremely assured
series of performances...as gripping as they were unsettling.’
Rowena Smith, The Guardian, April 2009
‘Sunday, the second and final day in the Brodsky Quartet's intensive two-day survey of
Shostakovich's 15 String Quartets, was, without exaggeration, a day and a night of awesome
musical experience.’
Michael Tumelty, The Herald, April 2009
‘[Elvis] Costello hinted that he might be back soon with a rock band, but while the Brodskys
haven't yet mastered power chords and feedback, they can handle pretty well anything else.
Their collective treatment of Elvis's Falklands War epic, Shipbuilding, was fraught with
mixed emotions, moving through passages of doubt and discomfort before evoking
enormous sadness.’
Adam Sweeting, The Telegraph, April 2009
‘...The collaboration, which began with the release of the album The Juliet Letters in 1993,
has stood the test of time. ... There was a distinct rapport to the performance that went
beyond the obvious mutual respect between the two parties, and a sense of musical
adventure was in the air.’
David Sinclair, The Times, April 2009
‘The Brodsky Quartet are the no. 1 interpreters of Shostakovich in the world today.’
Corriere della Sera, December 2008
‘Some secrets are better kept than they should be; the excellent Brodsky Quartet's residency
at Cadogan Hall, London.’
Fiona Maddocks, Evening Standard, 30 October 2008
‘Of Dvorak's Second String Quintet: ‘Apart from its supremely upholstered textures, and a
massive, velvety depth of tone, the performance was outstanding for the group's multi-level
command of the intimate chamber music of the piece and its symphonic dimensions,
portrayed at their most grand and imposing.’
Michael Tumelty, The Herald, 6 October 2008
‘Throughout the night Rowland led with determination and flair supported by the intuitive
playing of Ian Belton on second violin, the assured cello playing of Jacqueline Thomas and
with Paul Cassidy as the linchpin; his dignified, heartfelt playing a revelation of the beauty of
the viola.’
Rosalind Appleby, The West Australian, 22 February 2008
‘The appointment of the Brodsky Quartet as resident string quartet at the RSAMD for a
three-year period is a coup for the Academy. The cult string quartet are not only a group with
a stellar international reputation; they are one of a handful of string quartets that have come
to represent an elite in redefining the nature and function of a string quartet ensemble.’
The Herald, October 2007
‘It's warming to be immersed in the Brodsky Quartet's tender music-making. ... Their close
interaction has a ballet-like beauty. The focal point was Ravel's String Quartet – the
Brodskys built a close, mystical atmosphere, breathing the Spanish summer night's shadows,
while the last movement's syncopated games were charged with feverish frenzy.’
Svenska Dagbladet, September 2007
‘The Brodskys' achingly beautiful performance reached deep into the heart.’
Rian Evans, Guardian, September 2006
‘...The performance of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 1...an extremely closely-knit and mature
performance. The Brodsky Quartet played with their new, half-Dutch leader Daniel Rowland
as if they had done so for centuries.’
Jochem Valkenburg, NRC Handelsblad, June 2008
‘Before the intermission Bartók’s String Quartet No. 1 was fabulously performed by the
Brodsky Quartet.’
Frits van der Waa, de Volkskrant, June 2008
‘THE Brodsky Quartet is not just a great group. It is a genuine phenomenon, as Glasgow
concert-goers will find out soon when the quartet unfolds its staggering versatility across all
three of Glasgow's concert halls with a musical repertoire that is mind-blowing in its
diversity. But it struck home at the weekend that, even within its relatively orthodox
‘classical’ quartet operation, there is something individual about the quartet. Through the
weekend the players had saturation presence in Glasgow, beyond the gaze of the public
through their education programme and a few other things, and in public with two
concentrated concerts that seemed to define the essence of the Brodsky Quartet.
They are uncompromising. Who else would dare stage - far less pull off - a lunchtime
programme that ranged from Mozart's teeth-grindingly gripping Adagio and Fugue to
Beethoven's unremittingly concentrated C-sharp-minor quartet, opus 131? ... Interpretations
revealed the Brodskys at their most volcanic in the tornado of Mozart's fugue, and at a level
of near-conspiratorial intimacy in a philosophical and conversational account of the
Beethoven, where the collective intellectual acuity of the players attracted the concentration
of the listener with magnetic irresistibility.
On Saturday night they catapulted challenges at the audience, not only with their terse,
tough, taut and microscopically-detailed performance of Lutoslawski's huge and punishing
1964 string quartet, but equally, if light years away from Lutoslawski, in the scrunchingly
dissonant passages of Purcell's Fantasias, immaculately played in a period style. The wonder
of the weekend, however, was the Brodsky's gloriously open-hearted interpretation of
Mendelssohn's Second String Quartet, a riveting performance that pulsed with warmth and
left the word ‘masterpiece’ stamped on every page of the music.’
Michael Tumelty, The Herald, March 2009
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