Sini Simonen violin
Daniel Roberts violin
Natalie Loughran viola
Steffan Morris cello
Programme:
Love Letters
Robert Schumann Der Dichter Spricht (arr. for string quartet)
Kurtàg Aus der Ferne III
Dvořák selection from Cypresses
Janaček String Quartet No.2 Intimate Letters
Brahms String Quartet No.2 in A minor, Op.51 No.2
The Castalian String Quartet is taking the international chamber music scene by storm. Gaining renown for interpretations “full of poetry, joy and sorrow, realised to such perfection” (The Observer), they are the first Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence at the University of Oxford and were named Young Artist of the Year at the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards.
Recent debuts include New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and Paris Philharmonie. In the 2024/25 season, the Castalian String Quartet makes its debuts at Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Bruges and in the chamber music cycles of Unione musicale Turin and Helsinki Seriös, amongst others.
The Castalian String Quartet’s 2022 release Between two Worlds, presenting music by Orlando di Lasso, Thomas Adès, Ludwig van Beethoven and John Dowland, was given a double five-star review as BBC Music Magazine’s Album of the Month. 2024 saw two releases: Eleanor Alberga’s Tower with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Kemp and Music for Strings composed by Brian Elias.
The quartet was formed in 2011 and its name is derived from the Castalian Spring in the ancient city of Delphi. When not on stage, Finnish first violinist Sini Simonen bags Munros, American violist Natalie Loughran mixes mean cocktails, and the Welshmen, second violinist Daniel Roberts and cellist Steffan Morris, get overly emotional about rugby.
