Kleio Quartet
(Event 5: Tue 6 Oct 2025 8.00pm Little Missenden Church)
Yume Fujise, Katherine Yoon violin Jaren Ziegler viola Gerard Flotats cello
Franz Joseph Haydn String Quartet op74 no1 in C major
Mark-Anthony Turnage Laura
Carl Nielsen String Quartet no1 in G minor
Programme Notes will be available for download here and free at concert
Having spent the previous two years in London, Haydn was back home in Vienna in 1793, where he wrote six string quartets – three each in his op71 and op74 sets. Hardly surprisingly, they reflect the novel experience of having heard his latest works performed in large public spaces to hugely appreciative audiences. One result? His quartets now became more expansive and outward-facing. Op74 no1 is a prime example of the change. It’s a bright and airy piece, lively and joyful in equal measure, with a highly lyrical third movement trio and an almost orchestral-sounding finale.
Laura was premiered late last year by the Kleio Quartet. In what must be unique scoring, they accompany themselves on Japanese temple bells to create an unforgettable sonic landscape, which the performers themselves describe as ‘spellbindingly beautiful’.
Nielsen wrote four string quartets, all of them early works before he’d developed the more personal and idiosyncratic style we see for example in his later symphonies. Although these are now far better known than they were a few years’ ago, the same can’t be said of his quartets. This neglect is our loss – the G minor Quartet is a glorious work, wearing its late-Romantic clothes with great aplomb. Moving easily between vigorous interplay among the strings, chorale-like stillness and full-blooded lyricism, it certainly gives us every incentive to explore the other three.
First Prize and Commission Prize winners at the 2023 Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition, the Kleio Quartet are rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting young string quartets on the international stage. The ensemble was formed at the Seiji Ozawa International Chamber Academy and has since performed in many leading venues across Europe. They’re part of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme and served as the Resident Quartet at the Royal Northern College of Music’s String Quartet Studio in 2025.
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