Quartet In Residence
The Edinburgh Quartet and Joanna Shaw, flute, return to Ullapool as resident tutors for Variations 2010.
BIOGRAPHIES
The Edinburgh Quartet is the resident ensemble of the Ian Tomlin School of Music, Napier University, Edinburgh. Founded in 1959 by Professor Sydney Newman, the Quartet also continues to play an important role in the musical activities of Edinburgh University.
After its formation, the Quartet quickly became established as one of the foremost British ensembles. Having worked closely with Michael Tippett, the Edinburgh Quartet’s recording of Quartet No 1 was selected by the composer for release shortly before his death. Close relationships were established with some of the most distinguished composers of the time. Indeed, their work in this field earned them the first PRS award from the Scottish Society of Composers. Kenneth Leighton and Hans Gal worked intimately with the Edinburgh Quartet in the preparation and performance of their works. Recently they have released two CDs of Leighton’s work and have just finished recording Hans Gal’s four string quartets.
Foreign tours soon became a frequent feature of the Quartet’s season. In addition to regular journeys to European countries and the USA, the Edinburgh Quartet toured extensively in South America and in many of the Caribbean islands in the 1960s and early 70s – pioneering expeditions to many areas which had not experienced this sort of music before. The 1980s saw the Quartet playing regularly behind the Iron Curtain, and in the Middle East. These international connections are still active, and have been enriched in recent years by the Quartet’s regular visits to the islands of Cyprus and Malta.
In addition to fulfilling their regular series of engagements over a wide area, the players are more involved than most string quartets in the promotion of chamber music, playing both in Scotland’s cities and throughout the country’s rural areas. A regular series is given in Edinburgh, and starting in 2004, in Glasgow. Major works of the quartet repertoire are toured to the remotest locations of the Highlands and Islands, providing an intimate and complete musical experience to communities that may otherwise receive only scaled-down performances by larger companies, or perhaps no music at all.
