Zelkova Quartet

A welcome return to Conway Hall of the young Zelkova Quartet featuring one of the finest quartets by the ‘Father of the String Quartet’ and finishing with Debussy’s only work in the genre.

Catherine Pether (violin)
Ed Pether (violin)
Alex Mitchell (viola)
Jonathan Pether (cello)

Haydn Quartet in E flat Op.20 No.1
Beethoven Quartet in E minor Op. 59 No.2
Debussy Quartet in G minor Op. 10

Winners of the 2017 St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition, the Manchester-based Zelkova Quartet was formed at the Royal Northern College of Music under the guidance of Petr Prause, cellist of the Talich Quartet.

Recent performances include recitals at St Martin in the Fields, St John’s Smith Square, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall and the Bridgewater Hall for the Manchester Midday Concert Society. The quartet have featured numerous times on BBC Radio 3 including a Royal Philharmonic Society ‘Encore’ performance at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, a performance as part of the BBC Proms Plus Portrait series, and a live broadcast on the ‘In Tune’ programme. In 2015 the quartet was invited to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the Royal Overseas League’s programme of events at the festival.

Prior to their success at the St Martin’s Competition, the quartet were awarded the Elias Fawcett Trust Prize for Outstanding Chamber Ensemble at the 2014 Royal Overseas League Competition. In the same year they completed an International Artist Diploma in Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music, the institution’s most advanced level of study in performance, and were selected to participate in the St John’s Smith Square Young Artists Programme 2014/15.

The group was one of four quartets selected internationally to participate in the Trondheim International String Quartet Academy 2012 and attended the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme in September 2013. More recently they were selected for the ChamberStudio Study Programme 2016/2017 which enabled them to work with the highly esteemed chamber musician Simon Rowland-Jones. They were also delighted to have been selected to attend the prestigious International Musician’s Seminar at Prussia Cove 2017, working with Rita Wagner and Ferenc Rados. As an ensemble they have received additional coaching from Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Levon Chilingirian, Hatto Beyerle, Peter Cropper and Richard Ireland.

The quartet takes its name from the beautiful Zelkova tree, which varies enormously in appearance depending on its species. Originally the Zelkova tree was common throughout Northern Europe and North America but can now be found in various locations across the globe from Southern Europe to Eastern Asia. Partially made up of three siblings, they enjoy the presence of Alex Mitchell as an honorary Pether on viola! The quartet wish to thank Peter and Veronica Lofthouse for their support.

zelkovaquartet.co.uk

Photo of Zelkova Quartet © ION PHOTOGRAPHY