Archive for April, 2009
Spohr Quartet Opus 82. no. 2 – score finished!
Well after about 40 hours of painstaking work, I’ve finally finished re-setting the illegible but under-rated string quartet by Spohr (Op. 82. no. 2) using Sibelius software. The only previously available edition by Schlesinger has been out of print for a long time – and it contained lots of errors, wrong notes and mistakes in phrasing [...]
Bruch, Coleridge – Taylor, Spohr, D’Indy
This week we seized another opportunity to get together for a sociable day of chamber music and explore some more pieces for string quartet. Whereas last week I’d played the first violin parts and Louise had played second violin, we kept it interesting by swapping over today. Playing second violin in the quartet is a [...]
Hymns for String Quartet
Some of the more unexpected side effects of the ‘financial crisis’ are the inventive ways in which couples getting married save money on their wedding plans and find ways to get the most out of all their wedding suppliers. One such example would be a recent trend to get the best value out of hiring a string [...]
Schubert, Van Bree and Spain Dunk!
One of the greatest pleasures of being a musician is getting together with colleagues just to play through chamber music for our own enjoyment. Rather than working hard in rehearsals preparing a piece for a concert or recording, we can just sight-read through new repertoire that we’ve never played before, try out lesser known pieces and sometimes [...]
Concert at St Olave’s Church
People are often surprised to discover just how many wonderful classical concerts there are in and around the city of London on weekday lunchtimes, often with free entrance and a retiring collection for the church or charity. From the point of view of the audience, a free lunchtime recital usually lasts about 45 minutes, commonly starting [...]
Mr Beveridge’s Maggot
We’re frequently asked whether we can play special requests for wedding ceremonies. Often it’s a piece of particular significance for the couple getting married and they are delighted when their wedding string quartet can provide it. Yesterday, we played an arrangement of an old English folk tune which was used in the BBC production of Jane Austen’s [...]
Spohr String Quartet in G (Op. 82 no. 2)
Occasionally, you take on a task which at first seems relatively straightforward, but unfolds to become quite an endurance test….. In our exploration of Spohr’s string quartets we have discovered some real gems. I’d put them in a bracket of well deserving but neglected works that really reward both listeners and players – they are creatively [...]
Summer weddings have arrived…..
With such beautiful weather this weekend, our wedding string quartet had our first ‘outdoor’ engagement of 2009 at Layer Marney Tower in Essex. It’s always a pleasure to play at Layer Marney because the staff are so incredibly helpful and really look after the musicians, enabling us to get on with our job and play as much music [...]
Beat the intro….
Each year, our group play for over a hundred weddings in addition to all our concerts, recitals and other engagements. With very few exceptions, these occasions are really lovely occasions and we wholeheartedly enjoy playing as a wedding string quartet for people – but some weddings really do stand out as being quite unique, and [...]
