Notos Quartett

For their Oxford debut, the Nottos Quartett have devised a rich programme centred around nature and youth featuring music by Mahler, Walton and Brahms.

Walton’s piano quartet was written when the composer was just 16, and was published while he was studying at Oxford. Mahler was also 16 when he wrote his own (unfinished) quartet, and a youthful optimism shines through both works. All three composers were deeply affected and inspired by the natural world. Brahms began each day with a walk through the forest, and throughout his life Mahler retreated to his ‘composing huts’, often built near lakesides, in order to find tranquility. Walton, meanwhile, took up full-time residence on the Italian island of Ischia, where his wife Susana created the magnificent gardens at La Mortella. 

Sample the music with our playlist:

‘Notos’ perfectly blended sound brought to mind the experience of a fine old burgundy – rich, warm, elegantly refined, glowing with an inner spirit that resulted in some of the finest chamber music performances I have ever heard anywhere.‘ Classical Voice North America

‘[The Notos Quartett are] unanimous in the way they shape the music and so impeccable in their blend and tuning – this is superb chamber music playing.‘ The Guardian

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Since its foundation in 2007 the Notos Quartett has won six first prizes as well as numerous special prizes at international competitions in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and China.

They are regarded as one of the ‘outstanding chamber music formations of our time’ (Fono Forum). Besides this piano quartet’s ‘virtuosic brilliance and technical perfection’ audiences and critics worldwide celebrate the Notos Quartett for its ‘sense of balance and ensemble playing revealing every detail of the composition’ and praise the musicians for their ‘profound musicality that goes straight to the heart’. 

The Notos Quartett’s vision is to perform the well-known masterpieces, to reveal lost and forgotten treasures, and to champion the new compositions for the unique genre of the piano quartet. This is evident on the ensemble’s debut album Hungarian Treasures released by Sony Classical/RCA in February 2017. It includes the world premiere recording of Béla Bartók’s piano quartet, a rediscovery for which the ensemble received international acclaim.

To read the full biography, please visit the Notos Quartett website.