Dudok Quartet Amsterdam: an evening in the arms of Death

By Phil Parker, 21 November 2025

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“scored thrillingly in terms of its theatrical exploitation of contrasts of major and minor keys”

Reviewed at Upper Chapel, Sheffield on 20 November 2025

Saariaho, Terra Memoria for string quartet

Gesualdo, Madrigali a cinque voci, libro sesto: Moro, lasso, al mio duolo

Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death (selection)

Liszt, Via Crucis, S 53 (selection)

Schubert, String Quartet no. 14 in D minor, "Death and the Maiden", D.810

Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

Judith Van Driel, Violin

Marleen Wester, Violin

Marie-Louise de Jong, Viola

David Faber, Cello

An exhilarating Beethoven “Razumovsky” Quartet no. 2 by Quatuor Danel

Andrew Larkin, 30th June

Quartet Dudok perform life-affirming Mozart while Apollon Musagète Quartet give an effective rendition of Panufnik. Quatuor Danel deliver a tour de force of Beethoven's “Razumovsky” String Quartet no. 2.

****1

A fascinating offering of chamber music at Bantry House in Cork

Andrew Larkin, 29th June

An energetic Kodály and a convincing Bacewicz String Quartet no. 4 made for a satisfying first half, while the Quatuor Danel delivered a wonderful rendition of Beethoven’s Op.59 no. 1.

***11

Saariaho's fascinating phantasmagoria: Only the Sound Remains

David Pinedo, 15th March

Philippe Jaroussky stars in a new Kaija Saariaho—Peter Sellars collaboration: Only the Sound Remains. Not since Written on Skin has modern opera thrilled with such intensity.

*****

Savall conducts Beethoven and Haydn at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 3rd April

Beethoven's Christus am Ölberge is paired with Haydn's Die sieben letzten Worte, a journey from agony to transcendence in which the agony proves the more honest companion.

***11

Portraits and pictures from Ibragimova, Gardner and the LPO

Roy Westbrook, 1st April

From Three Screaming Popes to Pictures at an Exhibition, a pair of works inspired by paintings frame a violin concerto by Béla Bartók at London's Southbank Centre.

****1

Evgeny Kissin leaves a trail of happy hearts at the Barbican

Christopher Woodley, 31st March

With a spring in his step, Evgeny Kissin returns to Barbican Hall and gives well-wrought accounts of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Schumann.

****1

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Phil Parker

Phil is a retired A-level English teacher who is now able to devote his life to things he really wants to do with his time. These include, but are not limited to: writing short fiction (his first collection, Girl with Fan, was published in late 2023), singing, creating programme notes for his choir’s concerts, volunteering, cooking, reading, and attending all home games at his beloved Manchester City. Alongside these is listening to classical music (live, on disc and on the radio), a lifetime’s love of which was sparked at the age of 11 when he discovered Haydn.

Sorrow and consolation: an evening in the arms of Death with the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam