Latest news from the Carducci Quartet!
29/05/08 New residency announced at Cardiff University! Cardiff University’s School of Music is thrilled to announce that the award winning Carducci Quartet will be their resident ensemble from October 2008. During the residency the quartet will continue to build on their reputation for educational work and will undertake a series of workshops at the University. Prize winners in no less than 7 International Chamber Music, the Carducci Quartet has quickly become recognised as one of Europe's top young string quartets, recently winning the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York a part of the prize for which will see them giving their first concert at Carnegie Hall later this year. Other prizes include 1st prize at the 2004 Kuhmo International Chamber Music Competition in Finland, winners of the special prize for “Communication & Culture” at the 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition and winners of the Jury prize at the 2006 London International String Quartet Competition. They were also recently shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the chamber music category.
03/04/08 RPS shortlisting and new residency!We're very excited to announce that we've been shortlisted in the Chamber Music Category for the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards this year. We look forward to the awards ceremony at the Dorchester in London on the 15th May! We're also pleased to announce a new residency starting this month! April 21st will see the first day of our residency at the Gloucester Academy of Music, working with young musicians from throughout Gloucestershire. We'll perform our first concert alongside the students on the 23rd April at Leonard Stanley Priory. For more details and the press release click here. 
02/03/08 Exciting New Education ProjectsFebruary was a busy month for us, beginning with a concert at Wigmore Hall in their Coffee Concerts series. We played a programme of Haydn and Dvorak quartets to a packed hall and really enjoyed the occasion. Later that day we visited Swiss Cottage Library to take part in a new series of family concerts, sponsored by the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust (See picture on left). The trust creates fantastic opportunities in introducing chamber music to children and this new series has been extremely popular with young and old. Last weekend we were at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester for the first National Young String Quartet Weekend, an event jointly created by Chetham's and the London String Quartet Foundation. There were a total of 10 young quartets from all over the country, each of whom were coached by Levon Chilingirian, Simon Rowland-Jones, Graham Oppenheimer, Nicholas Jones and ourselves. The weekend was jam-packed with lessons, workshops and performances and was a resounding success. 
26/01/08 Workshops, Wigmore & Winter Weather!November was a busy month for us. We spent two weeks bringing chamber music to schools around County Cork in Ireland, in a series of workshops run by West Cork Music. In total, we visited 21 schools and great fun was had by all! In December we were back at Wigmore Hall to take part in a celebration of the music of British composer Bernard Stevens (1916-1983), pictured left. Since his death in 1983, his works have attracted growing admiration for their power, accessibility, beauty and consummate musicianship. We performed his ‘Theme & Variations’ for String Quartet, a stunning work, which we very much enjoyed. 2008 began with a concert at Conway Hall, London, featuring clarinet quintets by Finzi and Brahms. That was soon followed by an evening at Trinity College of Music where we coached some of the young quartets on music by Beethoven and Schubert. Then it was off to Scotland, where we had mini tour, ending up with a concert at the magnificent St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. All in all, 2008 has got off to a good start! 
26/10/07 Carducci Quartet win in USA!The Carducci Quartet has won the 2007 Concert Artists Guild International Competition in the USA. Following two rigorous auditions in New York, the quartet was chosen from over 350 original applicants. They will receive prizes including a debut concert at the Carnegie Hall and a comprehensive management and marketing programme with CAG, including recording and commissioning opportunities. They will tour the USA for the first time next autumn. 
15/10/07 Richard Carne Junior FellowshipWe are very excited to have started our Richard Carne Junior Fellowship at Trinity College of Music in London. It's great for us to carry on our relationship with TCM this year, giving concerts and masterclasses to students. TCM has an amazing site in Greenwich (by the river) and is an inspiring place to study and work! 
23/09/07 Irish Tour & FestivalsWe were delighted when violinist, Catherine Leonard, invited us to perform three concerts at Kilkenny Festival last month. It was a lovely week and we so much enjoyed working with Julius Drake, Nicholas Daniel, Ani Aznivoorian and Jennifer Stumm. We embarked on an Irish Tour, promoted by Music Network, early this month. We travelled throughout the country, giving five performances in total. Then we headed for Cork, home for Michelle and Eoin, where we had our first opportunity to set foot inside the brand new, state of the art, Cork School of Music, which must surely now be the envy of all Europe's music colleges. The building is fantastic and the Curtis Auditorium is absolutely wonderful. It was here that our performances at the Carducci Quartet Festival were held. We were thrilled when the Cork School of Music's director, Dr Geoffrey Spratt, appointed us as the school's new String Quartet in Residence. We are very much looking forward to beginning our work there. 
1/9/07 Graham Whettam has sadly died just short of his 80th birthday.We were first introduced to Graham Whettam when we were still students. Christine Talbot-Cooper, a staunch supporter of both our quartet and of Graham’s music invited us to perform his String Quartet No.1 alongside a performance of “Rising Moon” his vocal work which shares common thematic material. Whilst learning the work, we were immediately struck by its intensity and beauty and also thrived on the challenge of the vigorous presto unison passages. A week before the concert, Graham came to meet us and hear a run through. It was the first time that we had met a “real life” composer as a quartet but Graham’s larger than life personality and brilliant sense of humour turned what could have been a nerve wracking experience into a thoroughly entertaining and highly memorable occasion. Over the years, we have continued to perform Graham’s music giving the world premier of his String Quartet No.4 and the first performance of the revised version of his first quartet for the Cheltenham International Festival in 2002. The week before his death, we were lucky enough to perform his String Quartet No.1 at the Three Choirs Festival. The concert coincided with the release of a CD of his String Quartets No.s 1 and 4 and his wonderful Oboe Quartet No.2 with Jennie Lee-Keetley, that we recorded earlier this year. It was fantastic that Graham was able to attend the concert and the positive reaction to his music was a testament to his talent. For more information about Graham and his vast compositional output, please go to www.meridenmusic.co.uk 
24/07/07 Collaborations and Verbier!June and July have been extremely busy months this year with some exciting new collaborations. Firstly we gave a performance of a rarely performed work - Warlock's 'Curlew', with Mark Chaundy (tenor), Claire Cobley (flute) and Jennie Lee-Keetley (cor anglais) at the Ludlow Weekend of English Song, followed by two performances of the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets with Julian Bliss in Guildford. We also gave four concerts at this years 'Second Glance' Contemporary Music Festival in London, performing works by Joe Duddell, Michael Finnissy, Michael Zev Gordon, Kenneth Hesketh, György Kurtág, David Matthews, Anthony Powers, Michael Stimpson, and Ian Wilson (amongst others!). Mid-July saw us in the mountains - at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. We had an enjoyable week coaching and performing during the Amateur Chamber Music Week, amidst some stunning scenery...
04/06/07 Our First FestivalWe began May with a tour of the Channel Islands. This was our first time there and we loved exploring each unique island and getting to know the locals! We then flew to Spain for concerts in Ourense and Vigo, arriving back just in time for our first festival in Gloucestershire. The Carducci Festival at Highnam was held from 11-13 May at Highnam's beautiful 'Church of the Holy Innocents' and the stunning Highnam Court. It was a great success, with full houses at every concert, and to all who helped with the organisation and running of the festival we are very grateful! Plans for next year's festival are already underway so watch this space... 
01/05/07 Students, young and old!We spent a very enjoyable Easter weekend in the beautiful town of Streatly, where we performed two concerts for Music at Leisure. Then we headed to France for our chamber music course at Beaumont. This was the largest group yet and for the first time, we had some Irish and Belgian students along. As always, we had a fantastic time and the young musicians really excelled themselves. Shortly after, we were at Dartington, this time coaching young kids. This was their first introduction to chamber music and we were amazed at how quickly they picked things up! Later on in April we visited Cardiff University, where we had a workshop working alongside the advanced composition students. It was a very interesting experience for us and we hope it was useful for the young composers. 
03/04/07 Quartet travel EuropeMarch was an exciting month for us! We had our first tour of Ireland, performing six concerts around the country, including the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and Fota House, Cork. We were delighted with the warm response from the audiences and look forward to our next Irish tour in September, which will be organised by Music Network. We had another great experience performing at Wigmore Hall, this time with pianist Nicola Eimer, followed quickly by a trip to Paris, where we had an inspiring few days of study with Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg Quartet. From there, we flew directly to Budapest to perform with the Katona Twins in the Budapest Spring Festival. Luckily we had some time to explore this beautiful city, which is full of wonderful old buildings, including the stunning HAS Ceremonial Hall (pictured above), where our concert was held. 
01/03/07 Aldeburgh ResidencyIn February, we had a fantastic residency in Aldeburgh. This was a wonderful opportunity to spend three weeks in one place (with the exception of a quick trip to Munich!). We were able to work intensively on some new repertoire with the help of Hugh Maguire and Alasdair Tait and we gave a number of performances in Jubilee Hall and other venues in the surrounding area. We also managed to fit in a few walks on the beach and one or two fish & chip suppers! What a beautiful place and a memorable time. 
14/02/07 Carducci Classics is launched!The Carducci quartet have launched their own record label 'Carducci Classics', with a debut CD of three great Haydn quartets, including the 'Frog' and 'Fifths'. The CD is available to buy through our website and will shortly be available digitally from ITunes and Napster, amongst others. Three other recording projects will follow in 2007 under the 'Carducci Classics' label. The Carduccis will be recording the quartets of J. Horovitz (including the oboe quartet with Nicholas Daniel), the quartets of G. Whettam and the complete quartets of B. Boydell. 
20/01/07 Michelle and Eoin's wedding!Michelle and Eoin's wedding took place in Killarney Cathedral, Ireland just after Christmas. It was a fantastic occasion and many musician friends joined forces to play during the ceremony. Their performance of Telemann's viola concerto with Simon Aspell of the Vanbrugh Quartet was particularly moving as Michelle walked up the aisle. As expected, Michelle looked stunning and Eoin's rendition of Frank Sinatra's "I've got you under my skin", during the reception will forever stay in the memory. After a short honeymoon in Vienna, (waltzing on new year's eve!), it was back to work with a 12 day Scottish tour. Thank you to all the music clubs for their warm welcome and Charlie was particularly delighted by his first experience of snow!
30/12/06 Wigmore Debut 
1/10/06 New addition to the Carducci Quartet!Matt and Emma have become parents for the first time after the arrival of Charlie John on September 22nd. Apart from the lack of sleep, all three are doing well. From the middle of October Charlie will sometimes be joining the quartet on the road (with Granny in tow!). Early trips in the car have proved successful and Charlie tends to fall asleep at the first sounds of classical music - so far so good! 
29/8/06 Bulldog Scholarship!We are very pleased to have been awarded the Bulldog Scholarship from Trinity College of Music for the next academic year. We look forward to many performance opportunities at Trinity (situated at the breath-taking Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich) and in the Blackheath Concert Halls. Our first concert on Nov 8th as part of the Trinity Schumann Festival will feature his first String Quartet, Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet. Additionally we are excited to be coaching 1st year students and to perhaps help inspire the next generation of young chamber musicians. The Bulldog Scholarship will also support us with our continued study. This coming year we will work with the Wihan quartet, Paul Katz of the Cleveland Quartet and Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg Quartet. 
26/7/06 Summer FestivalsOur summer festival season started with a week at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in the magnificent setting of Bantry House (pictured). We were fortunate enough to work with some amazing artists including Patricia Rozario, Charles Owen and Gillian McDonagh in a performance of Tavener's Schuon Lieder. A particular highlight was playing Britten's Phantasy Oboe Quartet with Nicholas Daniel (and the champagne and oysters that followed!). With a minimum of four concerts a day there was also plenty of opportunity to listen to some inspiring music-making, and each evening the audience and artists would descend on the local pub to digest the day's music making over a few drinks. Then it was on to Luberon in the south of France where we were quartet in residence for the opening week of the Festival International De Quatuors A Cordes. The concerts took place in local churches and at the breath-taking Abbaye de Silvacane. Despite the intense heat we managed to fit in a Carducci mini-golf tournament which Matt managed to win by one point! The following day we flew on to Porto for the Festival Internacional de Música da Póvoa de Varzim. Our concert 'Turning Point Paris' saw us join forces with the Katona Guitar Duo and Daniel Storer on Bass for a programme of Piazzolla, Ravel and de Falla. With a start time of 9.45pm it was midnight by the time we'd finished the concert and even then we couldn't get away as we had a long queue of autograph hunters outside the dressing room! 
25/5/06 Carducci Quartet and Margaret Murphy!The following was sent out as a press release! Prize-winning quartet snapped up by agency. After winning prizes at no less than six international chamber music competitions in the space of 4 years, the London based Carducci Quartet has been snapped up by agent Margaret Murphy. The move comes at an exciting point in the quartet's career with their Wigmore hall debut on December 18th, performances this summer at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Ireland and a residency at Aldeburgh in early 2007. Following on from their critically acclaimed performances for the Park Lane Group at the Purcell Room and for the inaugural Second Glance Festival the quartet are also quickly establishing themselves as leading exponents of contemporary music. Winners of the 2004 Kuhmo International Chamber Music Competition in Finland, the special prize for “Communication & Culture” at the 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition and winners of a special Jury prize at this year's London International String Quartet Competition the Carducci Quartet is rapidly becoming known as one of Europe's top young string quartets. The quartet (half British, half Irish) are delighted to be joining the same agency as the RTE Vanbrugh quartet who co-founded the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and have acted as mentors to the quartet for the past few years. The agency is also home to the Katona twins with whom the Carducci's have recorded a CD of Piazzolla and will be releasing a disc of Vivaldi for Channel classics early next year.
14/05/06 Nemours and FontainebleauWe've just returned from France where we gave a concert organised by ProQuartet. We performed an evening recital in the Musée de Préhistoire in Nemours and had an interesting moment during rehearsal when a electrical storm caused a power cut - we were left sitting in the dark surrounded by Neandertal bones! We were put up overnight in the wonderful home of Mr & Mme Heyberger in nearby Fontainebleau. (A new European center for chamber music is to be established there in part of the famous Chateau - see picture!) This week in London we're giving a Cavatina concert in a local primary school (hopefully to inspire a new generation of chamber music fans!) and then the final concert of the Second Glance Festival in Bolivar Hall. We'll be performing a piano quintet by David Matthews with festival director Mark Troop at the piano and a short quartet by John Woolrich called 'In the Stones'. We hope to see you there! 24/04/06 London International String Quartet Competition We were very pleased to make it through to the finals of this prestigious competition and to be awarded the Jury Prize. The final was broadcast on Radio 3 and there was much comment on the extremely high standard this year. With the press coverage and the fact that there were agents and promoters in the audience, this will be a big boost to our career. Thanks to all who supported us!
Carducci's with Martin Lovett (Amadeus Quartet) and Georges Zeisel (Director of Proquartet) Straight after the competition we motored down to south west France for the Beaumont Chamber Music Course that we run. This Easter we had 16 students learning quartets by Debussy, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Mozart, the Octet by Shostakovitch and Tchaikovsky's 'Souvenir de Florence'. A great time was had by all! Course Photos 20/03/06 Paul Katz and the 'Second Glance' Festival We've had a busy March so far with concerts in Guildford, London and Chichester, and an inspiring 3 days working with Paul Katz of the Cleveland Quartet in Paris. We've also just been invited to play in the 'Second Glance' Festival in Bolivar Hall (London) in April and May. This will mean a considerable expansion of our modern repertoire including works by David Matthews, John Woolrich, Stephen McNeff, Tom Ingoldsby, Adrian Williams, Colin Matthews, and Osvaldo Golijov. More details on our concerts page and at
www.chambermusiccompany.com
We spent a really good 10 days at the end of January with a residency at Beaumont (near La Rochelle in the south west of France). We gave a number of concerts including a recital at the Rochefort Music Conservatoire, returning to England on 4th Feb for a day of workshops at the Gloucester Academy of Music. The day was a great success and culminated in an evening concert with a performance of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no.4 alongside the students. We look forward to making a return visit next November! 
10/01/06 New Year - Ballinskelligs to the South Bank!
At the beginning of January we spent a wonderful few days rehearsing in Ballinskelligs, County Kerry - Ireland (excellent preparation for future concerts!) and were very pleased to give a concert in the local Ballinskelligs Craft Centre. Back in London on the 9th and despite the tube strike there was a great turn out for our Purcell Room concert. A big thank you to all those who supported us. It was great to see so many familiar faces in the audience and to catch up over a few drinks afterwards!
The concert went very well and we particularly enjoyed performing the works of Zev Gordon and Horovitz, who were both present.
See our reviews
Working with Kurtag in Paris proved to be an incredible experience. We spent four and a half hours working on about six minutes of music! He encouraged us to think about the importance of every single note. He also made a few changes to the score and was constantly asking us to experiment with different sounds and playing techniques. Despite turning eighty next year his energy is extraordinary - at one point throwing himself on the floor and crawling along in anguish to make a musical point! Michelle and Eoin flew directly back to Ireland for Christmas whilst Matt and Emma returned to london. It has been a busy few months and we can't relax just yet - there's only one day left to do all our christmas shopping - wish us luck! Seasons greetings from us all!
Note on Kurtag
3/12/05 Eoin and Michelle to get married! Eoin and Michelle have finalised arrangements to be married at Christmas next year back in their native Ireland. A host of friends and family will be coming together to celebrate their special day in the beautiful town of Killarney. Having been through it all before, Emma and Matt have plenty of help and advice for the bride and groom to be!
10/11/05 Working with Composers! Have just spoken to Michael Zev Gordon, the featured composer of the Park Lane Series, about the piece he is writing for us. It will be in three short movements and he hopes to finish it soon! He says that Stravinsky is a big influence of his so that gives us some idea about what to expect. One of the great things about doing this concert is the chance it has given us to work with the composers. We will be playing to Kurtag in Paris in a few weeks and we have already been in contact with Horovitz. Exciting times!
10/10/05 Carducci's to open PLG Series We are very excited to have been chosen to open the 50th anniversary Park Lane Series on January 9th 2006 in the Purcell Room in London. The programme, (which will certainly be a challenging one!)has just been finalised and will be Kurtag - Six moments musicaux, Dutilleux - Ainsi la nuit, a world premier of a quartet by Michael Zev-Gordon and Horovitz - String Quartet no.5 - phew!! Everyone is in celebratory mood as Kurtag and Horovitz turn 80 next year and Dutilleux 90. It would be great to get as much support as possible for this important concert!
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23/11/06 Carducci Quartet to work with Music Network, Ireland.
11/02/06 France and the Gloucester
24/12/05 Christmas with Kurtag!