Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | String Quartet no. 5

Pairing music from the 18th and 20th centuries is a common programming strategy, one which can bring out interesting parallels between the musical preoccupations of two very different eras. Some 20th-century composers looked to the more distant past as a way of engaging with traditions before the emotionally coercive 19th century.

Five string quartets performed by four musicians – each musician with an intricate understanding of the world of new music. The Smith Quartet are well established as being the modern music quartet to hear in the United Kingdom – having commissioned over 200 new works and working with the likes of Reich, Nyman and Glass – if you are a fan of minimalism.

Bathed in a wash of soft blue light, St John’s Smith Square was home to a remarkable concert on Friday night with the Smith Quartet presenting all five of Philip Glass’ string quartets. The performance, played with the sensitivity of real experts in this repertoire, provided an insightful and absorbing overview to the many different sides of Glass.

Playing a programme inspired by Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory, the Kronos Quartet re-imagined music from our past for a contemporary audience.Taking us back to 1926 and the newly independent country of Ireland, Kronos first performed Donnacha Dennehy’s One Hundred Goodbyes (Céad Slán). Built around Dr.