Arditti Quartet @ 50

Tickets £30 // Under 30 £6
Advance booking required

Pre-concert talk at 6pm:
In the company of BBC Radio 3 presenter and writer Kate Molleson, the Arditti Quartet look back at their 50 years at the forefront of contemporary music.

Arditti Quartet:
Irvine Arditti violin
Ashot Sarkissjan violin
Pierre Strauch cello
Ralf Ehlers viola

Kaija Saariaho (Finland, 1952-2023)
Terra Memoria (2006) 20’

Unsuk Chin (South Korea, 1961)
Gran Cadenza for 2 violins (2018) 6’

Chaya Czernowin (Israel, 1957)
Ezov (moss) (2024) 24’ UK Premiere

Click here to view programme note

It’s our great pleasure to invite the Arditti Quartet to open the 2024 festival as they celebrate their 50th anniversary this year. Recognised globally for their technical acumen, dynamic repertoire and the deeply collaborative relationships they maintain with composers, the quartet shares a close association with hcmf// too. They set the tone for this year’s festival with an evocative, decidedly thought-provoking programme which encapsulates their extensive range.

Co-commissioned as part of their anniversary celebrations, the quartet add a composition from Chaya Czernowin to their ever-expanding repertoire. This marks the first time Czernowin has written for the group specifically, channelling feelings of renewal in her piece. First however, Kaija Saariaho’s Terra Memoria will inaugurate this landmark occasion, meditating on the transformative power of memory, with Unsuk Chin’s virtuoso duo Gran Cadenza giving the Arditti’s violinists further opportunity to articulate their excellence.

Produced by hcmf// supported by Music Finland; also supported by Hinrichsen Foundation, Vaughan Williams Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and hcmf// Benefactor Karen Dawe, in memory of Mervyn Dawe

Ezov (moss) is commissioned by Wien Modern, Philharmonie de Paris and the Arditti Quartet, with funding support from Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

Photo credit: Manu Theobald