The Badke Quartet is a British

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 ...

. Founded in 2002 at London's

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, it regularly performs at leading venues throughout the UK,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and the rest of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 2014, the quartet was appointed quartet in residence at Royal Holloway University of London. From 2005 to 2009 the Quartet held the Senior Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music. The members of the quartet are Charlotte Scott and Emma Parker, violins, Jon Thorne, viola, and Jonathan Byers, cello. The quartet has worked with some of the world's greatest string quartets and studied with Gabor Takács-Nagy at IMS Prussia Cove and members of the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne. Edward Bhesania of

The Strad ''The Strad'' is a UK-based monthly classical music magazine about string instrumentsprincipally the violin, viola, cello and double bassfor amateur and professional musicians. Founded in 1889, the magazine provides information, photographs and re ...

magazine wrote that "A melt-in-the-ears quality ... made the atonality of the Britten less of a challenge and the Haydn that much sweeter". A review in ''

de Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

'' wrote that the group's playing was "of the utmost delicacy. The response from the hall: applause, stamping feet and enthusiastic whistling". The Badke Quartet regularly performs at concert halls and festivals in the UK and abroad, including the Aldeburgh, Aix-en-Provence and Verbier Festivals,

West Cork Chamber Music Festival The West Cork Chamber Music Festival is a music festival, established in 1995, in the town of Bantry in West Cork, Ireland. It usually occurs in July. Performers The festival's performers have included the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, Barry Douglas, ...

, London's Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, and the Musikverein in Vienna. The quartet has collaborated with musicians

Mark Padmore Mark Padmore (born 8 March 1961) is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera. He was born in London on 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent, England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral s ...

, Sir

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

John Mark Ainsley John Mark Ainsley (born 9 July 1963) is an English lyric tenor. Known for his supple voice, Ainsley is particularly admired for his interpretations of baroque music and the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the course of his career, he has g ...

, and others. The quartet broadcasts frequently live on BBC Radio 3 as well as on Classic FM, Lyric FM (Ireland), ABC Classic FM (Australia) and for the European Broadcasting Union. In 2007, it won 1st prize and audience prize at the 5th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition.

References

External links

*
The Badke Quartet performances at Gresham College
British classical music groups Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British string quartets Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in England {{England-band-stub