Gildas Quartet

The Gildas Quartet open the season with one of the most important string quartets of the 20th century, performed from memory. Shostakovich was born on this day, September 25, 1906, and 2025 marks 50 years since his death. Written in just three days, his compact Quartet No 8 is described by one writer as ‘a dense quartet [which] contains a lifetime of music’. The most popular of his 15 quartets, the Gildas will explore the background to the 20-minute work and play musical examples.Beethoven’s beloved ‘Rasumovsky’ quartets were named after his patron, Count Razumovsky, who requested three quartets ‘with Russian Melodies, real or imitated’. Jessie Montgomery’s ‘Strum’ is hailed as a ‘classic’ of the 21st century. It dates from 2008 in its version for string quartet and is the perfect invigorating opener to the new season.