Young Classical Music Artists Agency and Promoter

Navarra Quartet Reviews

‘Piemontesi and the Navarras gave it (Schumann’s Piano Quintet) the requisite spaciousness from the start……they made a thrilling journey through an emotional landscape by turns sweet, spooky, throbbingly combustible, and liberatingly joyous. And if this was a flawless performance, so was the Navarra Quartet‘s treatment of one of the Haydn’s early masterpieces, the G minor Quartet Opus 20. They have a warmly-rounded and very expressive sound, perfectly suited to Haydn: on this showing, they are already in the first rank of his music‘s exponents.’
The Independent BBC Chamber Prom with Francesco Piemontesis at Cadogan Hall July 2010

‘The opening Allegro was lively, the somber Minuet delicate, the Poco Adagio wonderfully sonorous (with a beautifully played cello interlude) and a superbly articulate finale (Haydn Op.20/3)….Piemontesi returned for Schumann’s Piano Quintet….this was an excellent performance….altogether stirring, Piemontesi‘s understated manner wonderfully complemented by the expressive playing of the Navarra Quartet.’
www.classicalsource.com BBC Chamber Prom with Francesco Piemontesis at Cadogan Hall July 2010

‘…the players realize the music’s essential intensity….with their vivid sense of dramatic expression in an intensely detailed performance'.
BBC Music Magazine Haydn 7 Last Words/Altara Records September 2009

“A rarity, on the other hand, was a performance in the basilica by the Navarra Quartet of Haydn‘s string quartet in G op.33 No. 5 and Mozart’s noticeable reference (to it - Haydn‘s piece), the quartet No.15 in d KV 421; performed impulsively and dynamically, but also with admirable filigree by the musicians…. the Navarra quartet unfolds the adorable setting in Haydns largo or Mozart’s andante with breathtaking tension into full bloom'.
Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung Rheingau Musik Festival July 2008

‘The Navarra Quartet brought some good humoured playing to Haydn’s Op.64 No.6….many magical moments in Thomas Ades Arcadiana….the Mendelssohn was outgoing and it's Schnittke fearless.
The Strad Melbourne Competition December 2007

A Celebration of Imogen Holst
‘the afternoon recital by the hugely promising Navarra Quartet included two of her [Imogen Holst] works alongside Purcell’s Chacony and Schubert‘s great C major Quintet’
The Guardian Aldeburgh October 2007

‘Moments of intuitive chamber work and cellist Nathaniel Boyd’s compelling melodic lines were signs of good things to come…Shostakovich‘s marathon third quartet came to life in subtle shades of humour and gravity. The young anglo-dutch ensemble played with an uncanny wisdom and a good sense of timing.’
The Strad, January 2007 (Wigmore Hall, September 2006)

‘The outstanding quartet playing of the whole Fest was giving us by the Navarra Quartet. The group formed at the RNCM in September 2002 with three Dutch members and an English cellist. It was no surprise that they were multi-prize-winners at home and abroad, and had gained the RNCM’s professional performance diploma with distinction. Joined by pianist, Vyacheslav Sidorenko, their Sunday afternoon recital of Shostakovich‘s Prelude and Fugue No. 15, Schnittke’s quartet No. 3, Shostakovich‘s piano quintet and Shostakovich No. 3 was a truly remarkable experience. Totally at one with the music and each other, these talented young players are on their way to top acclaim in the chamber music world. By comparison the St Petersburg Quartet…though superb, did not play with such all-consuming believe.’
ESTA Magazine, January 2006 (Soviet-Festival Manchester, January 2006)

‘The Navarra Quartet opened the programme exactly a hundred years after Shostakovich’s birth with the composers eight quartet, a reading of much insight and dedication.'
The Musical Opinion (Purcell Room, September 2006)

To engage the Navarra Quartet for a concert please call us on 020 7379 8477 or contact us using the enquiry form.

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