In each of the last few years we have featured just one top string quartet in the programme. In 2020 there are no less than four. Three are very well-known to Festival-goers: the Brodskys, the Carduccis and the Sacconis. The fourth is a Canadian string quartet which plays unique and exhilarating folk music, but more on them later.
The outstanding Brodskys, Carduccis and Sacconis will present classic quartet works by Beethoven, Borodin, Mendelssohn and Bartok. But they will also depart from their familiar repertoire and offer audiences something different and exciting:
The Brodskys will be joined by a recent BBC Young Musician winner, the cellist Laura van der Heijden, for a performance of the most universally loved chamber music piece of all - Schubert’s great String Quintet in C major.
The Carduccis will present a fascinating collaboration with Joseph Tawadros - an eccentric composer and oud-playing virtuoso who was born in Egypt and brought up in Australia.
In three separate concerts, the Sacconis will perform Schubert’s Quintet in E flat major with another BBC Young Musician winner - the phenomenal pianist and Freddy Kempf, the world’s first theorbo concerto with soloist Matt Wadsworth, and a suite of music with the jazz trio Acoustic Triangle, which comprises bassist Malcolm Creese, saxophonist Tim Garland and pianist Gwilym Simcock.
The aforementioned Canadian string quartet is called ‘The Fretless’. These fantastic players transform fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate, beautiful and high-energy arrangements, bringing a new approach to folk music that is gaining acclaim around the world. Catch them if you possibly can!