Contact
Maike Charlotte Fuchs+49 (0) 30 214 594 -220mf@karstenwitt.com
Heike Wilms+49 (0) 30 214 594 -236hw@karstenwitt.com
General Management
The Castalian String Quartet's debut CD, released at the end of April, has received rave reviews.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet in D minor, KV 421
Jean Sibelius, Streichquartett op. 56 'Voces intimae'
Leoš Janáček, String Quartet No. 1 'Kreutzer sonata'
Robert Schumann, Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44
Frederic Chiu, piano
Joseph Haydn, Streichquartett op. 20 Nr. 1
Nicholas Marshall, Clarinet Quintet Introduction and Allegro
Johannes Brahms, Clarinet Quintet op. 115 B minor
Castalian String Quartet
Michael Collins, clarinet
Charlotte Bray, Ungrievable Lives
Benjamin Britten, String Quartet no.1
Sini Simonen - ViolinDaniel Roberts - ViolinRuth Gibson - ViolaChristopher Graves - Cello
Named the inaugural Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence at the University of Oxford and 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist of the Year, their recent and forthcoming highlights include debut invitations to Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress Washington, San Francisco Performances, Emerald City Music Seattle, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Vienna, Philharmonie de Paris, Auditorium du Louvre, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Lucerne Chamber Music Society, Flagey Brussels, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Saffron Hall, and the Aldeburgh, East Neuk, Spoleto, Rockport and Heidelberg Spring festivals. In 2022 they will give world premieres of works by Charlotte Bray and Mark Simpson. The Quartet’s 2019-2020 Wigmore Hall cycle of Brahms and Schumann featured collaborations with Stephen Hough, Cédric Tiberghien, Michael Collins, Nils Mönkemeyer, Isabel Charisius, and Ursula Smith. In 2018, they recorded the complete Haydn Opus 76 quartets for the Wigmore Live label.
Formed in 2011, the Castalian String Quartet studied with Oliver Wille at the Hochschule für Musik Hanover, soon winning 1st Prize at the 2015 Lyon Chamber Music Competition and 3rd Prize at the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition. Their mentors include Simon-Rowland-Jones, David Waterman and Isabel Charisius. In 2016, the Quartet were selected by the Young Classical Artists Trust, and more recently were named recipients of the inaugural Merito String Quartet Award/Valentin Erben Prize and a 2018 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.
When not on stage, Finnish first violinist Sini Simonen can be found hiking in the hills, Welsh second violinist Daniel Roberts follows his beloved Liverpool Football Club, Irish violist Ruth Gibson teaches yoga and English cellist Christopher Graves makes bows. Based in London, the quartet take immense pleasure in performing for diverse audiences everywhere, from great concert halls to maximum security prisons and even a rainforest.
The quartet’s name is derived from the Castalian Spring in the ancient city of Delphi. According to Greek mythology, the nymph Castalia transformed herself into a fountain to evade Apollo’s pursuit, thus creating a source of poetic inspiration for all who drink from her waters. Herman Hesse chose Castalia as the name of his futuristic European utopia in The Glass Bead Game. The novel’s protagonist, a Castalian by the name of Knecht, is mentored in this land of intellectual thought and education by the venerable Music Master.
Saison 2021/22
Wir bitten Sie, diese Biografie unverändert abzudrucken. Veränderungen sind nur nach Rücksprache mit dem Management gestattet.
"The 'Castalians' captivated with earthy dark timbres. With passion, they threw themselves into the despair of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's last quartet Op. 80 as well as into two movements from Jean Sibelius' "Voces intimae"... What an entertaining, stimulating, witty evening!"
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Harald Eggebrecht, 4th April 2022
“I was completely taken aback by the sheer sweetness of the tone from the Castalian Quartet in their concert of Beethoven’s first and Dvorak’s last string quartets. The sheer beauty of the playing, together with the uncannily clean resonance of the space, brought to life the music in all its grandeur and delicacy, with every instrument sounding clean and every phrase fresh.”
The Times, Simon Thompson, 5 July 2021
“…Castalians, unsurpassable among young quartets…there was never at any moment a single doubt about the expressive intent of the Castalian String Quartet, with its first violinist, the outstanding Sini Simonen, sending phrases up into the air and almost leaving them there before catching them on the way down.”
The Arts Desk, David Nice, 16 July 2021
"The European Ensemble are 'truly fused together as one'. They show an immense dedication to whatever music they perform, across a broad repertoire from Haydn to Thomas Adès."
BBC Music Magazine, January 2020
"...both beautiful and powerful. Janáček writes for four absolutely equal parts, and the score needs a quartet of the Castalian’s calibre to really work... A fabulous performance of great emotive force and profundity."
Seen and Heard International, April 2021
"They’re terrific: violinists who seem capable of anything, layering a gleaming finish (often the key to a really luminous quartet sound) on viola a player with a tone like crushed velvet and a cellist who sounds like old gold."
The Spectator-Richard Bratby/ Wigmore Hall / January 2020
"...rising stars in their field, the Castalian String Quartet…The Clarinet Quintet, a desert island choice for many of us, was given a desert island-worthy performance here…..To hear this music, so full of poetry, joy and sorrow, realised to such perfection, felt like a miracle."
The Observer, Fiona Maddocks, 11 January 2020
Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in b-flat
Britten String Quartet No. 2