The Arditti Quartet play Nancarrow and Ligeti

By Paul Kilbey, 25 April 2012

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Reviewed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 22 April 2012

Nancarrow, String Quartet no.1

Ligeti, String Quartet no. 2

Nancarrow, String Quartet no. 3

Nancarrow, Player Piano Study no.33 (arr. Usher)

Arditti String Quartet

The Arditti Quartet turns 40 in style

Katy Wright, 26th April

Celebrating 40 years of championing the contemporary string quartet, the Arditti Quartet concluded a day-long marathon with six quartets from composers around the globe. Polished beyond belief, they gave mesmerising performances.

*****

Seeking new music with the Arditti in Dublin

Cynthia Wilson, 6th March

The Arditti Quartet has adventurously championed contemporary repertoire throughout an illustrious career. Recent quartets from Haas and Abrahamsen are joined by Xenakis' Tetras at the New Music Dublin Festival.

*****

Wigmore Hall celebrates Irvine Arditti at 60

Paul Kilbey, 16th October

Irvine Arditti is turning 60 this year, but the real landmark perhaps comes next year, when his eponymous string quartet turns 40. The astonishing amount of good they have done contemporary music in this time deserves a ton of celebration in 2014.

****1

Prom 5: Helmut Lachenmann vs. Gustav Mahler with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

Georgina Hastings, 15th July

The fifth Prom of the 2013 season welcomed Jonathan Nott and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra to the Royal Albert Hall, with the Arditti String Quartet as soloists. Nott and his orchestra became an award-winning partnership in 2010, winning the MIDEM Award for their recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.

****1

Eight extraordinary string players meet: The Arditti and JACK Quartets combine at Wigmore Hall

Paul Kilbey, 6th May

The volume was that of a string quartet on steroids, but the sound was that of eight extraordinary string players each playing slightly different things. James Clarke’s 2012-S, for two string quartets, gave an explosive, subtle start to the Arditti and JACK Quartets’ joint Wigmore Hall recital this Monday.

****1

The Arditti Quartet play new music at the Wigmore Hall

Paul Kilbey, 31st October

As a non-composer, I always find it a little disconcerting when composers completely disagree with me about new music. And when I talk to two composers separately, and they offer matching opinions opposed to my own – as happened last night at the Wigmore Hall – I definitely end up feeling slightly wrong-footed.

****1

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.