Elias String Quartet

Elias String Quartet is a top international quartet, with musicians from France, the Netherlands and Scotland. This successful ensemble, whose name is from an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, has recorded all of Beethoven’s string quartets and performed on stages such as Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Carnegie Hall in New York. They have toured the US, Canada, Australia and more.

Elias String Quartet premiered Sally Beamish’s third string quartet, Reed Stanzas, in 2011 at the BBC Proms in London. Beamish’s music often has themes from the Celtic tradition, including this quartet.

Maurice Ravel was 28 when he composed his sole string quartet in 1903. It is well anchored in a classical foundation, but with some inspiration from Debussy as well. The piece quickly became established on the repertoire. The well-known pizzicato section of the second movement is also the vignette music for the programme Kulturstudion (The Culture Studio) on Swedish Television (SVT).

Antonín Dvorák wrote several pieces with obvious slavic influences, among them the string quartets nos 10 and 11. The 10th quartet is played here, and it is filled with rythms and atmospheres characteristic of the region's folk music.