Castalian String Quartet
Sini Simonen, violin
Daniel Roberts, violin
Ruth Gibson, viola
Steffan Morris, cello
The Castalian String Quartet is taking the international chamber music scene by storm. Gaining renown for interpretations “full of poetry, joy and sorrow, realised to such perfection” (The Observer), they have recently been announced as the first Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence at the University of Oxford.
Formed in 2011, the quartet studied with Oliver Wille at the Hochschule für Musik, Hannover, before being selected by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2016. They were awarded First Prize at the 2015 Lyon International Chamber Music Competition and in 2018 were recipients of the inaugural Merito String Quartet Award and Valentin Erben Prize, and a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship. The ensemble was named Young Artist of the Year at the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards.
Recent debuts include New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Paris Philharmonie and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The Castalian String Quartet performs frequently at the Wigmore Hall in its home city of London. In 2018 they recorded Haydn’s Op.76 quartets for the Wigmore Live label and were joined by pianists Stephen Hough and Cédric Tiberghien, violist Isabel Charisius and clarinetist Michaels Collins for a Brahms and Schumann series in the 2019-20 season. Their next Wigmore Hall cycle will feature all three quartets by Benjamin Britten. The quartet often appears at festivals such as Spoleto USA, Aldeburgh, North Norfolk, Cheltenham, East Neuk, Lockenhaus and Heidelberger Frühling. Recent and upcoming premieres include works by Charlotte Bray, Edmund Finnis, Mark Simpson, Simon Rowland-Jones and Sir Mark-Anthony Turnage.
The Castalian String Quartet’s 2022 release Between Two Words (Delphian Records), presenting music by Orlando di Lasso, Thomas Adès, Ludwig van Beethoven and John Dowland, was given a double five-star review as BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Album of the Month’: “this outstanding disc offers listeners a true philosophical journey…a series of intricately connected works, each performed with rare beauty and originality by a quartet at the height of its powers…[the Heiliger Dankgesang from Beethoven Op.132] is nothing short of a revelation in its lucidity of line and sheer beauty of sound.”
The quartet’s name is derived from the Castalian Spring in the ancient city of Delphi. According to Greek mythology, the nymph Castalia transformed herself into a fountain to evade Apollo’s pursuit, thus creating a source of poetic inspiration for all who drink from her waters. Committed to inspiring a diverse audience for classical music, the Castalians have performed everywhere from the great concert halls to maximum security prisons and even the Colombian rainforest. When not on stage, Finnish first violinist Sini Simonen bags Munros, Irish violist Ruth Gibson teaches yoga and the Welshmen, second violinist Daniel Roberts and cellist Steffan Morris, get overly emotional about rugby.
Artist's/Ensemble's own websiteProgramme
18.7.
Franz Schubert (1797—1828):
String Quartet No. 15 in G, D. 887 (1826)
19.7.
Francesco Antonioni (1971):
Surfarara, based on a Sicilian folk song sung by a sulfur miner (2024, Finnish premier)
19.7.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770—1827):
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 'Serioso' (1810–11)
21.7.
Joseph Haydn (1732—1809):
String Quartet No. 63 in B flat, Op. 76 No. 4 'Sunrise' (1797)
22.7.
Wynton Marsalis (1961):
Meeelaan for bassoon and string quartet (1999)
22.7.
Béla Bartók (1881—1945):
String Quartet No. 5, BB 110 (1934)
Sini Simonen
24.7.
Anna Clyne (1980):
Prince of Clouds for two violins and strings (2012)
24.7.
J. S. Bach (1685—1750):
Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043 for two violins, strings and basso continuo (1730–31)
24.7.
Gustav Mahler (1860—1911):
Piano Quartet in A minor (1876)
24.7.
Edward Elgar (1857—1934):
Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84 (1918–19)
26.7.
Maurice Ravel (1875—1937):
Introduction and Allegro, Op. 46 for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet (1905)
26.7.
Johannes Brahms (1833—1897):
String Sextet No. 2 in G, Op. 36 (1864–65)
27.7.
Franz Schubert (1797—1828):
Piano Quintet in A, D. 667 'Trout' (1819)
Daniel Roberts
23.7.
Alfred Schnittke (1934—1998):
Piano Quintet (1972–76)
Ruth Gibson
20.7.
Richard Dubugnon (1968):
Rundtanz, Op. 93 for piano sextet
Swiss Piano Trio
16.7.
Anton Arensky (1861—1906):
Piano Trio No. 1 D minor, Op. 32 (1894)
18.7.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770—1827):
Allegretto in B flat, WoO 39 for piano trio (1812)
18.7.
Matthias Roth (1979):
Piano Trio 'erinnert' (2023, Finland's premier)
18.7.
Paul Juon (1872—1940):
Piano Sextet in C minor, Op. 22 (1902)
19.7.
Walter Rabl (1873—1940):
Clarinet Quartet in E flat, Op. 1 (1896)
20.7.
Bohuslav Martinů (1890—1959):
La revue de cuisine (The Kitchen Review), H. 161 for reciter, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello and piano (1927, text: Ron Butlin)
- Thom Hoffman
- Harri Mäki
- Jaakko Luoma
- Pasi Pirinen
- Swiss Piano Trio
20.7.
Richard Dubugnon (1968):
Rundtanz, Op. 93 for piano sextet