Two Michael Nyman works for string quartet at St John's Smith Square

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.

Do you remember when Steve Reich, “America’s greatest living composer”, came to your school concert and you performed his seminal work Clapping Music with the great man? No? Well, Joshua Kellie does. Joshua was one of the talented (and fortunate) St Paul’s School pupils chosen to perform in a concert in honour of the minimalist composer on his 75th birthday.

The sparkle of Max Bruch's Fecond Violin Concerto and the drama of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony overcome the gloom of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s dark forebodings. 

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.