About

Doric String Quartet

About

Doric String Quartet

Alex Redington violin
Ying Xue violin
Hélène Clément viola
John Myerscough cello

“Luminous beauty of sound…”
The Daily Telegraph, 11 June 2022

The Doric String Quartet brings an elegance and intimacy both to the Classical canon and new music and as they go into their 25th anniversary this season, the players continue to deepen their interpretations and win fans across the world. Having performed cycles of Haydn, Mendelssohn, Britten and Bartók at famous venues around the world, including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna Konzerthaus and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, this season they turn their attention to Beethoven, embarking on a recording project for Chandos, with the first instalment out this year, and culminating in 2026–27 with the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Their intellectual rigour has led them to use specially made original-style bows for performing Classical repertoire from Haydn to Mendelssohn, and while they are known for their refined performances of this repertoire, they are also committed to new music, performing works by composers such as Peter Maxwell Davies and Donnacha Dennehy. In 2019 they gave the world premiere of Brett Dean’s String Quartet no.3, commissioned for them by Musica Viva Australia, Carnegie Hall, Edinburgh Festival, Berlin Konzerthaus, Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale and West Cork Chamber Music Festival.

The Doric String Quartet’s curiosity and flexibility are represented by a discography of more than 20 recordings for Chandos, with whom they have recorded exclusively since 2010, ranging from Purcell to John Adams. They are regular visitors at Snape Maltings and London’s Wigmore Hall, where they were the first group to perform to a live audience after lockdown. They make an annual tour of the US and visit Japan every other year, with venues including Suntory Hall.

They often perform repertoire for string quartet and orchestra, including Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, and were invited to give the Austrian premiere of John Adams’ Absolute Jest for String Quartet and Orchestra at the Vienna Konzerthaus, with Adams conducting. They also gave the Dutch premiere with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw under Markus Stenz, and have performed the piece with the BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras. Their recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Peter Oundjian, released on Chandos in 2018, was named Recording of the Month in BBC Music Magazine and praised for its ‘sumptuous sweetness and laser-like clarity’.

As a group, they enjoy working with other musicians, such as Jonathan Bass, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alina Ibragimova, Alexander Melnikov. They recently toured the US alongside Benjamin Grosvenor, worked with Cuarteto Quiroga and recorded Mendelssohn String Quintets with Timothy Ridout. This season they work with Tabea Zimmerman, Liza Ferschtman and Julius Drake.

Having themselves benefitted from coaching by groups such as the Hagen, Alban Berg, Artemis and LaSalle quartets, the group is keen to support young musicians and has been Teaching Quartet in Association at the Royal Academy of Music since 2015 and Artistic Directors of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival since 2018.

Alex Redington plays on a violin made by Paulo Castello c.1770, Ying Xue on a violin by Giovanni Gabrielli from 1754, Hélène Clément plays a viola by Francesco Giussani from 1843, previously owned by Frank Bridge and Benjamin Britten and on generous loan from Britten-Pears Arts, and John Myerscough performs on a cello made by the Brothers Amati in 1587.

Alex Redington violin
Ying Xue violin
Hélène Clément viola
John Myerscough cello

Firmly established as one of the leading quartets of its generation, the Doric String Quartet receives enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics across the globe. With repertoire ranging from Haydn through to Bartok, Ades and Brett Dean, the Quartet’s schedule takes them to the leading concert halls around the world including Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Konzerthaus, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Louvre, Carnegie Hall and Kioi Hall Tokyo as well as regular performances at Wigmore Hall.
A recent highlight of the Quartet’s programming has been Brett Dean’s String Quartet No 3. Given its world premiere in June 2019, “Hidden Agendas” was co-commissioned for the Doric by the Berlin Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale, Edinburgh International Festival, Musica Viva Australia and the West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
With a curiosity for repertoire and setting, the Quartet was delighted to take on John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” for String Quartet and Orchestra. The Quartet was invited to give the Austrian premiere at the Vienna Konzerthaus with John Adams conducting, the Dutch premiere with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw under Markus Stenz and performed the piece with the BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras. Their recording of the piece with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Peter Oundjian, released on Chandos in 2018, was named Recording of the Month in BBC Music Magazine and praised for the “sumptuous sweetness and laser-like clarity” of its performance.
Alongside main season concerts the Quartet has a busy festival schedule and has performed at the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade, Grafenegg, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schwetzingen, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, West Cork, Cheltenham, Delft, and Risør Festivals, collaborating with artists including Ian Bostridge, Mark Padmore, Alexander Melnikov, Pieter Wispelwey, Jonathan Biss, Chen Halevi, Elizabeth Leonskaja, Benjamin Grosvenor, Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien.
Highlights of the current season include returns to Stockholm Concert Hall, Haydn String Quartet Festival and Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern with other tours taking the Quartet to Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Israel. The Doric will also perform John Adams’ Absolute Jest with the Philharmoniscshes Staastorchester Mainz as well as returning to the Wigmore Hall for performances including a two-concert cycle of the complete Bartok Quartets. The Quartet returns to the US for its annual tour, where they will revisit their partnership with Jonathan Biss for performances including Philadelphia, Boston and Dallas. In Europe, collaborations include performances in Germany and the Netherlands with Cuarteto Quiroga as well as rescheduled performances with Alina Ibragimova and Cedric Tiberghien at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.
Since 2010 the Doric Quartet has recorded exclusively for Chandos Records, with their releases covering repertoire ranging from Schumann through to Korngold and Walton as well as works with orchestra including Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro and John Adams’ Absolute Jest. The Quartet’s most recent release of the Mozart Prussian Quartets was awarded Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, as well as being praised in BBC Music Magazine for its “vivid and insightful interpretations”. 2019 saw the release of the Doric’s benchmark recording of the complete Britten String Quartets. Recorded at Snape Maltings Concert Hall in conjunction with a series of performances at the Britten Weekend celebrations, the disc was Album of the Week in The Sunday Times, Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and saw the Doric praised in BBC Music Magazine for its “extraordinary affinity” with Britten’s music. The Quartet’s ongoing commitment to Haydn has so far seen them record the complete Opus 20, Opus 76, Opus 64 and Opus 33 Quartets with the recordings attracting acclaim including Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, Choc du Mois in Classica Magazine and a shortlisting for a Gramophone Award. Future recording plans including quartets by Mendelssohn, Grieg and Sibelius.
Formed in 1998 the Doric String Quartet won first prize at the 2008 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and 2nd prize at the Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition. In 2015 the Quartet was appointed as Teaching Quartet in Association at the Royal Academy of Music in London and from 2018 the Quartet took over the Artistic Directorship of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival, a position which sees them play a key role in implementing the Festival’s core mission of providing young chamber music professionals with a week of intensive mentoring, coaching and development.
The Quartet’s violist Hélène Clément plays a viola by Guissani from 1843, generously on loan from Britten-Pears Arts and previously owned by Frank Bridge and Benjamin Britten.