MAGGINI QUARTET Lorraine McAslan, Violin I
David Angel, Violin II
Martin Outram, Viola
Michal Kaznowski, Cello
Formed in 1988, the Maggini Quartet is established as one of the finest string quartets on the international chamber music circuit, performing at major festivals and concert halls throughout Europe, the United States and the Far East.
Renowned for championing British composers, the Quartet won Gramophone Chamber Music CD of the Year 2001 for the String Quartets and Phantasy Quintet of Vaughan Williams (8.555300), part of the Gramophone Award-winning Naxos series that has brought world-wide sales of more than 100,000 discs. The recording of Elgar's String Quartet and Piano Quintet with Peter Donohoe (8.553737) was a 1997 winner of the Diapason d'Or, France’s most prestigious award for classical music recordings, and the release of the String Quartets and Trio by E. J. Moeran (8.554079) proved to be one of the best selling chamber music CDs of 1998. The Maggini has also recorded all the Britten string quartets for Naxos (8.553883 and 8.554360), winning praise from Diapason in France, while the second volume was an Editor's Choice in Gramophone and in Classic CD. The recording of Walton's String Quartet and Piano Quartet with Peter Donohoe (8.554646) was nominated for a Gramophone Award, as well as being an Editor's Choice in Gramophone and the BBC Music Magazine, and the CD of Bax Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 (8.555282) won a 2002 Cannes Classical Award. The first CD of repertoire by Bliss (8.557108) was nominated for a Grammy Award 2004.
The Maggini Quartet has won similar praise for other recordings and has commissioned a number of works, including Robert Simpson’s last work, his Cello Quintet, first performed at the Cheltenham International Festival in 1996, a year which also saw the first performance of Olivia by Roxanna Panufnik, commissioned for the Maggini by Brunel University Arts Centre in London. The Maggini's 10th Anniversary commission was James MacMillan's Second Quartet, which received its world première at the Wigmore Hall in London in 1998, with subsequent performances in North America and Europe.
The Maggini Quartet has embarked on an exciting collaboration with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, performing and recording his ten new Naxos Quartets. The Wigmore is hosting performances of all ten works, including six world premières. Commissioned by Naxos, the works fulfil the composer's long-held intention of bringing a major contribution to chamber music repertoire, and the project is providing a unique opportunity for performers and composer to work together over a five-year period. The first CD of Naxos Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 (8.557396) is an Editor's Choice in Gramophone. Nine quartets have now been performed, including premieres at the Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham Festival, Oslo Chamber Music Festival and the Purcell Room. All have been received with outstanding acclaim by audiences and critics, as have the four CDs released so far.
The Quartet takes its name from the famous sixteenth-century Brescian violin-maker Giovanni Paolo Maggini, an example of whose work is played by David Angel.
For more information please visit the Maggini Quartet's website.
Upcoming Engagements
| Some forthcoming highlights in the Maggini Quartet's current season: |
| In December 2007 the Maggini Quartet will record Williams Alwyns Quartets Nos 1,2 and 3 for Naxos's award winning British Music series. |
| At the end of January 2008 the Maggini Quartet will record 'Naxos' Quartet's 9 and 10, the finale of their 5-year collaboration with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies which has seen them perform, tour and record all 10 of his new quartets commissioned by Naxos. |
| February to April 2008 - touring John Ireland's sextet with Robert Plane (clarinet) and David Pyatt (horn), prior to recording these works for Naxos in April 1008. |
| 29th February 2008: world premiere of Ronald Corp's 'Bustard Quartet' at the Wigmore Hall, a work which the Magginis will go on to tour in the UK. |
| 1st March 2008: world premiere of a new work for string quartet and chamber choir by Roxanna Panufnik. |
| April 2008 will see the the Magginis working with Peter Dohohoe again, playing Bridge's Piano Quintet for Birmingham Chamber Music Society. |
| Concerts in May 2008 will include a visit Rome for a performance of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Naxos Quartet No.7. |
| In June/July the Magginis have an annual tour of Norway. |
| September/October sees a major tour of Denmark and Sweden. |
| Though the summer and autumn they will be programming works by Edmund Rubbra, which they will go on to record for Naxos in December 2008. |
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