The Allegri Quartet is a
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
that was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and
William Pleeth
William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré.
Biography
Early years
William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...
.
It is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers.
A commitment to refreshing the repertoire had led the Allegri Quartet to give more than 60 world premières since 1964, including specially commissioned pieces by leading composers such as
James MacMillan
Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor.
Early life
MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...
,
Jonathan Harvey and
Colin Matthews
Colin Matthews, OBE (born 13 February 1946) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Noted for his large-scale orchestral compositions, Matthews is also a prolific arranger of other composer's music, including works by Berlioz, ...
.
Personnel
The quartet's members have included:
1st Violin
* Eli Goren (founder)
*
Hugh Maguire
* Peter Carter
* Daniel Rowland
* Ofer Falk
* Martyn Jackson
2nd Violin
* James Barton
* Peter Thomas
* David Roth
* Fiona McNaught
* Rafael Todes
Viola
*
Patrick Ireland
* Prunella Pacey
* Keith Lovell
* Roger Tapping
* Jonathan Barritt
* Dorothea Vogel
Cello
*
William Pleeth
William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré.
Biography
Early years
William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...
*
Bruno Schrecker
* Pal Banda
* Katherine Jenkinson
* Vanessa Lucas-Smith
The names of the current performers are shown in emboldened text. Like all the senior professional String Quartets, the members of the Allegri teach and give masterclasses as well as performing and recording.
The Quartet celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2004 and held a reunion at the
Llanfyllin
Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or p ...
Festival at which many of the past members also performed.
Daniel Rowland joined the Quartet following Peter Carter's retirement at the beginning of 2005.
External links
Allegri Quartet - Official Website'The Allegri at 50 – a Quartet in Five Movements' by Piers Burton-PageAllegri Quartet on MySpaceAllegri Quartet on YouTubeAllegri Quartet Archive
Musical groups established in 1953
English string quartets
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