Formed in 1974 by students at the Royal Academy of Music under the guidance of renowned quartet leader, Sidney Griller, the quartet rapidly achieved national recognition, and were appointed quartet in residence by the University of Warwick in 1977, a post which they held for over forty years. The quartet, which includes two of its founder members, has performed and broadcast extensively throughout the UK, and has made tours of Western Europe, the Americas, Australia, China, India and the Far East.
Since the mid-1980s the Coull Quartet has made well over 30 recordings featuring a wide selection of the repertoire closest to their hearts, from the complete Mendelssohn and Schubert quartets to 20th century and contemporary British chamber music. Their CD of quartets by Maw and Britten on the Somm label received universal acclaim; in addition to being featured in ‘Editor’s Choice’ in The Gramophone, it was also described as the ‘Benchmark Recording’ by BBC Music Magazine. Their recordings of music by Sibelius, Ian Venables and Alan Ridout have received many excellent reviews in the major musical publications, as have their two most recent Somm recordings: ‘Treasures from the New World’ with pianist Clelia Iruzun, and ‘On this Shining Night’, a collection of works for voice and string quartet, performed by Roderick Williams, James Gilchrist and Sophie Bevan.
Their impressive and wide-ranging list of commissions from Sally Beamish, Edward Cowie, Joe Cutler, David Matthews, Nicholas Maw, Robert Simpson and Howard Skempton includes string quartets, quintets with piano or wind instruments, works with solo voice or choir, and even a composition for quartet and table tennis players.
Programme
Mozart Quartet in G K387
Shostakovich Quartet No 4 in D Op 83
Interval
Beethoven Quartet in E minor Op 59 no 2 'Rasumovsky'