Kreutzer Quartet
About the guys…
The Kreutzer Quartet has established itself as one of the most sought after string quartets in the UK. They appear regularly at the major London venues and have made many live and studio recordings for the BBC, and major networks all over Europe. They have taken their extremely eclectic programmes to Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Serbia, Montenegro, Sardinia, the US, Spain, Cyprus, Poland, and Lithuania. Recent critical and publicly acclaimed performances have been at the Warsaw Autumn Festival, de Doelen, Rotterdam, Quartet 2000, Manchester International, and the Vilnius Philharmonic Festival.
The Kreutzers have a busy recording schedule, reflecting their commitment to musical exploration. Following the critical acclaim accorded their releases of cycles of quartets by Gerhard, Weir, Finnissy, Birtwhistle, Tippett, David Matthews and Hallgrímsson, the quartet are in the process of recording and releasing ground-breaking recordings of contemporary music while also keeping a hand in the classical repertoire with a forthcoming Metier disc of Beethoven. They have a particularly strong association with the Metier label, and have also recorded for Naxos, Toccata, NMC, Chandos, PARMA, Guild and New Focus.
The Kreutzer Quartet was formed in 1988. The group quickly became recognised as one of the foremost young string quartets in the U.K. The Kreutzer Quartet's rise did not occur despite its adventurous repertory, but in many ways because of it: from the beginning, they worked closely with many of the contemporary composers mentioned above, especially Tippett, Matthews, Weir, Hallgrímsson, and a few others. The group garnered numerous awards and citations in the coming years, including being selected for the 1996-1997 National Federation of Music Societies Tour. The Kreutzer Quartet's recordings soon began drawing attention, too. Among its earlier successes were a pair of Metier CDs from 2000: String Quartets 1 & 2 by Roberto Gerhard and Catalan Quartets, an album that offered quartets by Josep Soler, Miguel Roger, and Albert Sardá. In 2002 Naxos began issuing recordings by the Kreutzer Quartet, the initial CD offering Quartets 1, 5 & 6 by Germany-based American composer Gloria Coates.
The Quartet’s personnel:
Peter Sheppard Skærved | Violin
Mihailo Trandafilovski | Violin
Clifton Harrison | Viola
Neil Heyde | Cello
In Performance…
Edward Cowie's 6th String Quartet 'The Four Winds' performed by the Kreutzer Quartet | Wilton's Music Hall, London.
Video by Optic Nerve - Cameras by Colin Still, Ray Andrew, Jack Churchill. Edited by Jack Churchill. Recorded & directed by Colin Still.
David Matthews' 13th Quartet, for string & four singers, in memoriam Peter Sculthorpe (World Premiere), performed at Wilton’s Music Hall, London by the Kreutzer Quartet with singers Rebecca Lea, Jessica Dandy, James Robinson, and William Dawes.
Video by Optic Nerve. Cameras by Colin Still, Ray Andrew, Jack Churchill. Edited by Jack Churchill. Recorded & Directed by Colin Still.
