BEETHOVEN, MOZART & MORE: STRING QUARTETS

Marmen Quartet

The Guildhall, Portsmouth
Monday 20 January 2025, 7.30pm
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BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op.95 “Serioso” (22′)
BARTÓK String Quarter No. 3 (15′)
FISHER Heal (8′)
MOZART String Quartet in C K465 ‘Dissonance’ (30′)

The Marmen Quarter has won a glittering array of international prizes; its musicians are rigorous and deeply humane performers. Charting hundreds of years string writing, their concert begins with Beethoven’s ‘Serioso’ String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, followed by the vivid folk-inspired motifs of the Third Quartet No. 11 in F minor, followed by the vivid folk-inspired motifs of the Third Quartet by Hungarian composer Belà Bartók.

Salina Fisher’s highly original hypnotic new work, specially commissioned for the Marmen Quartet during lockdown by Chamber Music New Zealand, also features. Culminating in Mozart’s daring ‘Dissonance’ String Quartet in C, join us for a celebration of timeless classics and the innovative spirit of modern works.

About the Artists

Marmen Quartet

From 2015-2018, the Marmen Quartet was the first ensemble to participate in Music in the Round’s Bridge scheme to support promising young musicians at the start of their professional career. Bridge provided the quartet with performance opportunities, mentoring, guidance and advice on developing and succeeding in the world of professional music-making. This included mentoring by the late, world-renowned leader of The Lindsay String Quartet and founder of Music in the Round, Peter Cropper.

Formed in 2013 at the Royal College of Music, the Marmen Quartet were holders of the Guildhall School of Music String Quartet Fellowship (2018-2020) and studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover with Oliver Wille as well as in London with Simon Rowland-Jones and John Myerscough (Doric Quartet). They were mentored by the late Peter Cropper and have received support from the Musicians Company/Concordia Foundation, the Hattori Foundation, Help Musicians and the Royal Philharmonic Society (Albert and Eugenie Frost Prize).

With a growing reputation for the courage, vitality and intensity of its performances the Marmen Quartet is fast establishing itself as one of the most impressive and engaging new talents in the chamber music arena. 2019 marked a year of significant achievement for the Quartet, with First Prizes at both the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition and Banff International String Quartet Competition, where they were also awarded the Haydn and Canadian Commission prizes. Other accolades include first prize at the Royal Overseas League Competition (2018) and awards at the International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition…The Marmen Quartet has performed at venues including Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Boulez Saal, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Stockholm Konserthuset, Milton Court (Barbican), Palladium Malmö and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven. The Quartet performs regularly across Sweden and 2020 saw its first complete cycle of Beethoven String Quartets for Musik I Syd. Festival engagements have taken the Quartet to the Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale, BBC Proms, Hitzacker, Lockenhaus, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, and the Barcelona and Gulbenkian Foundation String Quartet Biennale Festivals.

In the US, 2022 saw the Quartet takes up its position as Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence at the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University in partnership with the Banff International String Quartet Competition; a relationship that sees the Quartet work closely with the University’s students as well as giving performances and developing new projects across its residencies. The Quartet returns three times to the University in the 22/23 season, with other North American highlights including performances in Calgary and Vancouver.

Another highlight of the 22/23 season will see the Marmen Quartet taking part in the Australian National Academy of Music’s Quartetthaus project, hosted in London by the Royal Albert Hall. A showcase of both musical and architectural talent, the Quartetthaus programme features works by both Australian and British artists including a new piece by Hannah Kendall commissioned for the Marmen Quartet by ANAM. Other UK highlights include a return to Wigmore Hall, as well as performances in Cambridge, Manchester, Belfast and Sheffield. In Europe, recital engagements take the Quartet to Bremen, Munich and Bern as well seeing them take part in the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival and undertaking an extensive tour of Ireland for the National String Quartet Foundation. Elsewhere, the Quartet makes its debut in Israel with a tour including performances in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.