Solaris Quartet »
ReviewsReview of The Mosaic Nomad "Based upon a collection of ancient melodies gathered by GI Gurdjieff across the middle and Far East during the late 19th and early 20th century, and released by a new co-operative classical label, this intriguing body of work benefits from the highly-regarded musicianship of Roland Roberts (violin), Neil McTaggart (violin), Mike Briggs (viola) and Nicholas Allen (cello). Dark, mournful passages tell of loss and despair, while bright, sun-kissed phrases relate tales of discovery and hope. Although important as a historical document, this album offers an exceptionally rewarding and emotional musical journey in its own right." - Keith Ames, The Musician Autumn 2010 Testimonials"Recently, at the German Embassy in London, we were very privileged to hear a concert by the Solaris String Quartet. They are an exceptional group of musicians and those who are lucky enough to attend one of their performances will be left with the deep desire to hear them again." - Georg Boomgaarden, German Ambassador in London "The Solaris Quartet have made an inspiring and valuable contribution to the Imperial War Museum's event programme since 2001. Their performances for our Holocaust Memorial Day events and most recently the In Memoriam Young Composers' Competition have been sensitive, accomplished, and above all incredibly moving." - Diane Lees, Director General of the Imperial War Museum, London "A truly world class quartet." - Barrington Pheloung, Composer of Inspector Morse, Shopgirl and Lewis "The Solaris Quartet added so much to the evening with their superb performance of music from Terezin. As on previous occasions it really did provide exactly the right focus for reflection following talks from Vera Schaufield and Otto Deutsch" - Suzanne Bardgett, Head of the Department of Holocaust and Genocide History, Imperial War Museum London The repertoire button is inactive.
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Discography
OutreachSolaris has a strong commitment to education work having enjoyed a highly productive residency at the London College of Music and regularly give workshops to a wide range of students. Their outreach programme had included working for Live Music Now! and they have recently launched a music and ICT presentation, Strings n Things, aimed at primary school level.Workshops Strings n Things is a 1 hour interactive concert featuring the Solaris String Quartet for KS2 primary school children. The concert explores different ways in which music and ICT can be combined and makes extensive use of visual, aural and kinaesthetic learning stimuli. There is ample audience participation from whole audience items to individual help. Along with the live musical elements of the concert, there is extensive use of multimedia presentation techniques (including a virtual orchestra projected on screen), live manipulation of recorded sound, and combining pre-recorded and live sounds. Recent praise for Strings n Things The best visiting group we've had - Godwin Junior School, Newham
A very enjoyable performance. The children were full of enthusiasm afterwards - Elburton Primary School, Plymouth Absolutely wonderful - Thankyou! - Halstead Preparatory School, Woking The Photo gallery button is inactive.
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The quartet's busy schedule includes appearances at major concert venues throughout Britain and Europe, including regular invitations to perform at London's South Bank. Film soundtracks, radio and television broadcasts, educational projects and masterclasses form an important part of the quartet's programme. Future performances include a staged chamber version of Handel's Messiah for Merry Opera Company scored for 16 voices, quartet and organ, and concerts in France and UK.
Solaris is one of this country's leading interpreters of Entartete Musik - music banned by the Nazis. Gideon Klein, Hans Krasa and Pavel Haas are among the talented composers from this dark period of history whose music the quartet is helping to keep alive. The quartet works closely with the Imperial War Museum and Beth Shalom National Holocaust Centre to bring performances of this little-heard music to festivals and concert halls throughout the United Kingdom. Solaris was recently invited to play at the German Embassy for an international Holocaust education seminar.
The quartet has a strong commitment to new music with several works having been dedicated to the group, including Barrington Pheloung's String Quartet no.9, William Attwood's Contracorrientes and a song cycle based on A.E.Houseman's A Shropshire Lad, the poems being set by several young composers. Solaris has also collaborated with virtuoso melodeon player Luke Daniels in his project The Lost Music of the Gaels performing throughout the UK and to a sell-out Royal Festival Hall. In 2009, the quartet finished a major collaboration with the Imperial War Museum called In Memoriam - a composition competition for young composers taking inspiration from the exhibition of the same name commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of the 1st World War. The second competition is currently being planned.
Solaris is also active in the education field having enjoyed a highly productive residency at the London College of Music. They regularly give workshops to a wide range of students including a highly successful music and ICT presentation, Strings n Things, aimed at primary school level.
The quartet have recently released their debut CD for Blue Jelly Records - The Mosaic Nomad, The music of G I Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann. Available for download on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby or as a physical CD from www.bluejellyrecords.com.
Solaris can be visited at www.solarisquartet.com or become a fan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Solaris-Quartet) for up-to-date information.
Solaris Quartet's web profile was last updated 19th May 2012