Castalian Quartet: “Full of poetry, joy, and sorrow…”

YOU DON’T USUALLY FIND string quartets described as “feisty,” but according to The Guardian (UK), that’s a good way to label the Castalian String Quartet. They “seem a feisty group, with a real personality and strong interpretive ideas.” That’s not a bad reputation for a young quartet to have. You can hear for yourself when the ensemble makes its Center debut March 2. Pianist Sir Stephen Hough will be on the bill performing a composition of his own with the quartet.

One of the most distinctive artists of his generation, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career as a pianist. Hough was the first classical performer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and in 2014 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honors in 2022.

A prolific composer and writer, Sir Stephen has composed works for orchestra, choir, chamber ensemble, organ, harpsichord, and solo piano, and has contributed articles to numerous publications. “Wonderful, almost miraculous,” says The Times (UK). “There isn’t a color, weight of attack or nuance of phrasing or rhythm that passes Hough by.”

The Castalian String Quartet is gaining a reputation as one of the most exciting and in-demand quartets on the world stage. It formed in 2011 and has shown its mettle with the prizes and awards the ensemble has received, including first prize at the 2015 Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2016, a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and were named Young Artist of the Year by the Royal Philharmonic Society. The group is the Hans Keller String Quartet in Residency at Oxford University.

It goes without saying that they have performed at the leading concert venues throughout Europe, as well as New York’s Carnegie Hall. They are frequent guests at Wigmore Hall in London and have recorded on the Wigmore Hall Live label. According to the Observer (UK), they are gaining renown for interpretations “full of poetry, joy and sorrow, realized to such perfection.”

At a concert at last year’s Edinburgh International Festival, The Arts Desk said of their performance, “This concert contained music from the 1820s, 1920s and 2020s, and each piece had its own carefully constructed, bespoke sound world. Nothing was taken for granted here, and there were no short cuts. That’s what made it so powerful.”

Of another performance, The Times (UK) says, “This energetic young quartet played dark, searching Mozart and gloriously textured Dvořák, with sensational breadth and beauty.”

Don’t miss the ensemble’s Center debut with the sensational Stephen Hough. This is a concert that will prompt a standing ovation.

SAMUELI THEATER

March 2 | Tickets start at $39
scfta.org