The Doric String Quartet is based in the UK and was formed in 1998. As of 2022, the members are Alex Redington and Ying Xue on violin, Hélène Clément on viola and John Myerscough on cello. Past members include Jonathan Stone (violin; 1998–2018) and Simon Tandree (viola; 1998–2013). In 2008, the quartet won first prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and second prize at the " Premio Paolo Borciani" International String Quartet Competition. Their repertoire includes

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, Bartók, Janáček, Korngold and

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, as well as the work of contemporary composers such as

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...

and

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan ...

. They have given premieres of works by Dean,

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...

and

Donnacha Dennehy Donnacha Dennehy (born 17 August 1970) is an Irish composer and leader of the Crash Ensemble specializing in contemporary classical music. According to musicologist Bob Gilmore, Dennehy's "high profile of his compositions internationally, togeth ...

. The Doric is Teaching Quartet in Association with the Royal Academy of Music (from 2015) and artistic director of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival (from 2018). They have recorded for Chandos since 2009.

Members

The original quartet comprised Alex Redington and Jonathan Stone (

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

s), Simon Tandree (

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

) and John Myerscough (

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

). There have been some changes in the line-up over the years: Hélène Clément replaced Tandree on viola in 2013, and Ying Xue replaced Stone as second violin in 2018. The current members are: *Alex Redington, violin: has played instruments by Carlo Tononi and Paulo Castello *Ying Xue, violin: Chinese-born violinist; formerly played with the American Parker String Quartet *Hélène Clément, viola: French-born violist; plays an instrument by Guissani owned by Benjamin Britten *John Myerscough, cello

History

The quartet was formed for a London String Quartet Foundation symposium, although Redington and Stone already knew each other having attended Pro Corda in Suffolk together as children. They gained early exposure after winning the Bristol Millennium Chamber Music Competition at the age of eighteen, which led to a residency at the Wiltshire Music Centre. From 2002, the Doric studied with ProQuartet in Paris with the Alban Berg,

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

and LaSalle quartets, and, after separately attending music colleges, they came to the attention of the Young Concert Artists Trust in 2006, where they were advised by Alasdair Tait. Early concerts in the UK include at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

in London in 2004. The quartet won first prize at the 2008 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and second prize at the " Premio Paolo Borciani" International String Quartet Competition. The quartet toured Japan in the 2008–9 season, after winning the Osaka competition. Their American debut came in 2010, with concerts in New York and Washington, and they have since visited the USA annually. They first toured Australia in 2019. The Australian composer

wrote his String Quartet No. 3, ''Hidden Agendas'', for the Doric. In 2010, the quartet premiered

's ''Blake Dreaming'' at the Wigmore Hall, with the baritone

Roderick Williams Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born 1965) is a British baritone and composer. Biography Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and Haberdashers' ...

; and in 2015 or 2016, they premiered

's ''The Weather of It'', also at the Wigmore. They were conducted by

in his ''

Absolute Jest ''Absolute Jest'' is a concerto for string quartet and orchestra by the American composer John Adams. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony for the orchestra's centennial. Its world premiere was given at the Louise M. Davies ...

'' for String Quartet and Orchestra, a "staggeringly challenging" piece which makes "fearsome demands" on the quartet. After the lifting of the coronavirus lockdown in 2020, the quartet gave the first concert at the Wigmore Hall to have an in-house audience, with a programme of Mozart and

. In 2022, the Doric performed the complete set of Bartók quartets over three concerts on a single day at the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

; Ivan Hewett, in a ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

'' review, described the concerts as "wonderful because they simply revealed the music in all its rich humanity, and gave it a special intimate quality I'd never been aware of before." The Doric is Teaching Quartet in Association with the Royal Academy of Music (from 2015). In 2018 the quartet became artistic director of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival on the Isle of Mull.

Repertoire and style

The quartet's main repertoire includes

and works by early romantic composers such as

and

; 20th-century works particularly by Bartók, Janáček, Korngold and

; and works by living composers such as

and

. In 2016–17, the quartet began to use Classical (transitional-period) bows made by Luis Emilio Rodriguez Carrington for repertoire as late as Mendelssohn. Myerscough states that while the Classical bows generate a quieter sound and require more work from the player, they increase the clarity, responsiveness and range of articulation. Toby Deller, writing in ''

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 ...

'', characterises the Doric's work as having "clearly shaped phrasing, clean articulation, distinct voicing and uncannily immaculate ensemble playing". Charles T. Downey, in a concert review for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', praised the quartet's almost perfect cohesion, and highlighted their "knife-edged ... clean, almost strident sound", which he attributed to a lack of

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

. Harriet Smith, in a recording review for '' Gramophone'' magazine, singled out the Doric's "ability to reveal detail, though never at the cost of broader spans" as well as "their elasticity of phrasing, combined with an absolute confidence of ensemble without ever seeming overly obsessed with it". Paul Driverby, writing in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'', described the Doric's playing as "flamboyant when called for, but not otherwise; vibrato sparing but beautiful; ensemble impeccable – a true togetherness." Richard Wigmore, reviewing their series of Haydn recordings for ''Gramophone'', describes them as "technically impeccable, commanding a wide palette of colour and dynamics" but states "they can be uncommonly free over tempo, occasionally to the point of mannerism." Philip Clark, in a review of Haydn for '' Limelight'' magazine, notes that the quartet chooses not to deliver a traditional Classical performance but rather a "re-examination" of the works, writing that that they "splash around wideband dynamics and proto-expressionistic timbres with ... obvious abandon".

Recordings

The Doric's earliest disc was a live recording of Haydn, under the Wigmore Hall Live label, which was described in a ''Gramophone'' review as a "very auspicious recording debut". Since 2009 the quartet has recorded for the British label Chandos, starting with Korngold's quartets and including an ongoing cycle of Haydn quartets. In 2011, the Doric made the first recording of the original uncut first string quartet of

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

. They made the second recording of Adams's ''Absolute Jest'' in 2017 and have recorded works by Dean, including his quintet with Dean on viola. In 2018, they recorded the complete Britten string quartets at

Snape Maltings Snape Maltings is an arts complex on the banks of the River Alde at Snape, Suffolk, England. It is best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival. The original purpose of the Maltings was the m ...

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...

, for which Clément was loaned the composer's own viola, an 1843 Giussani, by the Britten–Pears Foundation. She describes the instrument as having a "wonderfully light quality", an "expressive A string" and an "extremely rich and full" tone, with a "bright quality". During its association with the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival, the quartet recorded Mendelssohn's six

string quartets 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 violinist ...

, as well as the composer's two

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

s with the violist Timothy Ridout.

Discography

Sources: * Haydn: String Quartets Op. 9 No. 4, Op. 50 No. 1, Op. 76 No. 1 ( Wigmore Hall Live; 2009) * Korngold: The String Quartets ( Chandos; 2010) * Walton: String Quartets (Chandos; 2011) * Schumann: String Quartets, Op. 41 (Chandos; 2011) * Schubert: String Quartets "Rosamunde", "Death and the Maiden" (Chandos; 2012) * Korngold: String Sextet, Piano Quintet with Jennifer Stumm (viola), Bartholomew Lafollette (cello), Kathryn Stott (piano) (Chandos; 2012) * Chausson: Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, String Quartet with

Jennifer Pike Jennifer Elizabeth Pike (born 9 November 1989) is a British violinist. Early years and education Pike began playing the violin at the age of five, and after auditioning at the age of eight she gained a place at Chetham's School of Music in M ...

(violin), Tom Poster (piano) (Chandos; 2013) * Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 20 (Chandos; 2014) * Janáček: String Quartet Nos 1, 2; Martinu: String Quartet No. 3 (Chandos; 2015) * Brett Dean: ''Epitaphs'', ''Eclipse'' (String Quartet No. 1), String Quartet No. 2, "And Once I Played Ophelia" with Brett Dean (viola), Allison Bell (soprano) (Chandos; 2015) * Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 (Chandos; 2016) * Elgar: Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and String Orchestra with the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

conducted by Edward Gardner (Chandos; 2017) * Schubert: String Quartet in G major, String Quartet in C minor "Quartettsatz" (Chandos; 2017) * Bracing Change: Donnacha Dennehy: ''The Weather of It'' (with other works) ( NMC; 2017) * John Adams: ''Naive And Sentimental Music'', ''Absolute Jest'' with the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...

conducted by

Peter Oundjian Peter Oundjian (born 21 December 1955) is a Canadian-American violinist and conductor. Early life Born in Toronto, Ontario, as the youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother, Oundjian also claims Scottish ancestry throu ...

(Chandos; 2018) * Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 64 (Chandos; 2018) * Mendelssohn: String Quartets in E Flat major, Op. 12, E Flat major, Op. 44 No. 3, F Minor, Op. 80 (Chandos; 2018) * Purcell: String Fantasias in Four Parts; Britten: String Quartets Nos 1–3, Three Divertimenti (Chandos; 2019) * Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 33 (Chandos; 2020) * Mendelssohn: String Quartets, No. 2, Op. 13, No. 3, Op. 44 No. 1, No. 4, Op. 44 No. 2 (Chandos; 2021) * Bax, Bliss, Delius, Finzi, Vaughan Williams: British Oboe Quintets with

Nicholas Daniel Nicholas Daniel (born 9 January 1962) is a British oboe, oboist and conductor. In 2003 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Leicester International Music Festival. Education He was educated at Salisbury Cathedral School and the Purcell S ...

(oboe, cor anglais) (Chandos; 2021) * Mozart: The Prussian Quartets (Chandos; 2021) * Mendelssohn: The String Quintets with Timothy Ridout (Chandos; 2022)

References

External links

Doric String Quartet's website
British string quartets 1998 establishments in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1998