Dialogues of Day and Night

From the smiling dawn of one of Haydn's "Sun Quartets" to Ligeti's "nocturnal metamorphoses," via the twilight variations that color Schubert's most famous quartet, the Barbican Quartet takes us on a symbolic journey through day and night. For the duration of a concert, with its renowned passion and sensitivity, it will inhabit these shifting landscapes where light converses with shadow, the torments of mourning with the rustling of life.

Joseph Haydn (Opus 20/6)

György Ligeti ("Nocturnal Metamorphoses")

Franz Schubert (Quartet D810 No. 14, "Death and the Maiden")

Barbican Quartet (United Kingdom)

Amarins Wierdsma (violin) · Kate Maloney (violin) · Christoph Slenczka (viola) · Yoanna Prodanova (cello)

The name of the Barbican Quartet holds a dual significance. A barbican is a defensive wall surrounding a town or castle, which the quartet connects to its quest for discovery, development, and the continuation of the string quartet playing tradition. The Barbican Quartet is also deeply connected to London, as it was there, at the Barbican Centre, that the quartet gave its inaugural concert in 2015. The founding members (Amarins, Christoph, and Yoanna) met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama during their studies. Today, the musicians of this cosmopolitan ensemble (representing 4 nationalities and speaking 7 languages) divide their time between London and Munich. The quartet is mentored by Günter Pichler at the Reina Sofia String Quartet Academy in Madrid, and by the Quatuor Ébène at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. Furthermore, they are guided and supported by the Belcea Quartet, Alasdair Tait, Andras Keller, and David Waterman. The Barbican Quartet won First Prize at the Joseph Joachim International Chamber Music Competition in 2019, and First Prize at the St Martin in the Fields Chamber Music Competition in 2018. Amarins, Kate, Christoph, and Yoanna made their Wigmore Hall debut in 2017 thanks to the Maisie Lewis Award, and in 2018, the Royal Philharmonic Society awarded them the Albert and Eugenie Frost Prize.