Sini Simonen, violin
Daniel Roberts, violin
Ruth Gibson, viola
Steffan Morris, ‘cello
The Castalian String Quartet has been a regular and welcome visitor to ENF for many years. It was formed in 2011 and in the past decade has received many plaudits including First Prize at the 2015 Lyon International Chamber Music Competition, the Merito String Quartet Award and Valentin Erben Prize, a prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and, in 2019, Young Artist of the Year at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. Recent debuts include New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Bowhouse and Kilrenny Church! The quartet often appears at festivals such as Spoleto USA, Aldeburgh, Lockenhaus and Heidelberger Frühling. Recent and upcoming premieres include works by Charlotte Bray, Edmund Finnis, Mark Simpson, Simon Rowland-Jones and Sir Mark-Anthony Turnage. Their most recent CD release, Between Two Words (Delphian Records), presenting music by Orlando di Lasso, Thomas Adès, Ludwig van Beethoven and John Dowland, was given a double five-star review as BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Album of the Month’: “this outstanding disc offers listeners a true philosophical journey…a series of intricately connected works, each performed with rare beauty and originality by a quartet at the height of its powers…[the Heiliger Dankgesang from Beethoven Op.132] is nothing short of a revelation in its lucidity of line and sheer beauty of sound.”
When not on stage, Finnish first violinist Sini Simonen bags Munros, Irish violist Ruth Gibson teaches yoga and the Welshmen, second violinist Daniel Roberts and cellist Steffan Morris, get overly emotional about rugby.
Read more about the Castalian String Quartet HERE
See more about their CD, Between Two Words, HERE
