Bracing Change 2 Piatti Quartet, Quatuor Bozzini & Heath Quartet

• Mark-Anthony Turnage (b. 1960): Contusion:
• 1 Turnage: Contusion 13:38
• Paul Newland (b. 1966): difference is everywhere (altered):
• 2 Newland: difference is everywhere (altered) 10:07
• Helen Grime (b. 1981): String Quartet No. 2:
• 3 Grime: String Quartet No. 2: I. 06:35
• 4 Grime: String Quartet No. 2: II. 06:46
• 5 Grime: String Quartet No. 2: III. 08:08
• Total Runtime 45:14

Info for Bracing Change 2

In 2017, when NMC and Wigmore Hall chose Bracing Change as the title for their new series of string commissions, they had no idea of the change lying ahead for the planet. Now in a world only beginning to process the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, amongst so much other turbulence, we present the second instalment in the series, introducing three new works to the string quartet repertoire. The composers Mark-Anthony Turnage, Paul Newland, and Helen Grime, all contribute to the rich history of the medium in hugely varying musical voices, as they collaborate with three of the most distinguished, internationally-renowned string quartet ensembles today.

John Gilhooly, Wigmore Hall Director, says, "This ground-breaking partnership between Wigmore Hall, The Radcliffe Trust and NMC Recordings continues with Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Contusion. The Piatti Quartet deservedly received a prize for their magnificent interpretation of the piece, when it was the compulsory work for the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. This recording of the revised version – which was premiered by the Piatti Quartet – dates from a few years later, following further deep engagement with the work. It is described by The Guardian as a ‘concise, poignantly balanced one movement cry of pain’.

The exceptional Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini brings us Paul Newland’s difference is everywhere (altered), in which subtly shifting chordal textures build gradually to create a uniquely haunting sense of beauty. The album closes with Helen Grime’s String Quartet No. 2. Helen was Wigmore Hall’s first female Composer in Residence and her new quartet was created against the particularly intense backdrop of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. It is premiered here by the Heath Quartet."

Piatti Quartet (track 1)
Bozzini Quartet (track 2)
Heath Quartet (track 3)

Piatti Quartet
The distinguished Piatti Quartet are widely renowned for their ‘acute sensitivity’ and their ‘lyrical warmth.’ Since their prizewinning performances at the 2015 Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition, they have performed all over the world and made international broadcasts from many countries.

The Piattis are famed for their diverse programming and for passionate interpretations across the spectrum of quartet writing, tailoring their performances with the violinists regularly swapping parts to bring out extra nuances and colours in every work.

Since their inception they have always had projects in the recording studio with critically acclaimed releases through Linn, Somm, Champs Hill, Hyperion, Delphian, and NMC record labels. Their wide ranging discography and repertoire is thanks to their enthusiasm and curiosity in collaborating with a broad range of artists including some of the most recognisable names in classical music such as Nicky Spence, Julius Drake, Michael Collins, Barry Douglas, Janina Fialkowska, Melvyn Tan, Ian Bostridge, Katherine Broderick, Adam Walker, Simon Callaghan and the Belcea Quartet.

Contemporary music has been ever present in their repertoire and leaving a legacy to the quartet genre through commissions is one of the quartet’s central tenets. Major commissions and dedications have stemmed from Mark-Anthony Turnage, Emily Howard, Charlotte Harding, and Joseph Phibbs whilst they have premiered a huge number of new works over the years. The Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Flagey Radio Hall Brussels, Wigmore Hall London, and the Aldeburgh Festival are some of the high profile occasions where new music has been presented and recordings of Turnage’s quartets 1-4 and Gavin Higgins’ chamber music has also been extensively lauded by critics.

Historical research into quartet music that has been undiscovered or deserves to be better known has led to the premiere recording of Ina Boyle’s (Ireland) SQ in E minor, and performances of lesser known quartet gems by Ralph Vaughan Williams, E.J. Moeran, Rachmaninov, Ireland, Haas, Ulmann, and Durosoir.

The quartet’s name is dedicated to Alfredo Piatti, a 19th Century virtuoso cellist who was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music (the alma mater of the founder’s of the quartet) and also a major exponent of chamber music and contemporary music of his time.

Bozzini Quartet
has been an original voice and strong advocate in new, experimental and classical music since 1999. Driving the hyper-creative Montréal scene and beyond, the quartet cultivates an ethos of risk-taking, experimentation, and collaboration, venturing boldly off the beaten track. With a rigorous eye for quality, they have nurtured a rich and diverse repertoire, regardless of trends. This has led to over 400 commissioned pieces, and some 500 premiered works. Their open, collaborative, artist-led approach has resulted in the realisation of numerous innovative and highly-praised productions, including inter-disciplinary projects with video, theatre and dance.

To ensure the continual development of the artform, Quatuor Bozzini’s musical ‘laboratories’, the Composers’ Kitchen, Performers’ Kitchen and Bozzini Lab, work to mentor and support new generations of composers and performers. The quartet runs its own recording label, Collection QB, and has released many critically acclaimed albums (including Juno nomination 2020, German Record Critics’ Award) which have become reference recordings in the field. They have also issued albums with Wergo-Deutscher Musikrat, Edition Wandelweiser, Another Timbre, Hubro, ATMA Classique, and Centrediscs.

Praised by its “intense musicality and immense sensitivity” (Musicworks, Canada), Quatuor Bozzini was qualified in the Bandcamp Daily as “one of the most daring string quartets of the entire world.” Quatuor Bozzini is a self-managed organization, producing a concert series in Montréal and touring extensively in Canada, the USA, and Europe.  Notable festivals and venues include MärzMusik Berlin (DE); Guildhall Barbican, Aldeburgh, Huddersfield (UK); Klangspuren Schwaz, Porgy&Bess (AT); Festival Présences, Festival Riverrun (FR); Angelica, SoundSCAPE (IT); Oslo Poesi (NO); Gaudeamus, Muziekgebouw, NovemberMusic (NL); Kortrijk (BE); Ostrava Days (CZ); SIPFEST (ID); Tsuda Hall (JP); TIMESPANS, Other Minds (USA).

Juno Nominee in 2020 for their album Short Stories, Quatuor Bozzini was awarded the prix Opus — Performer of the Year by the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM) in 2018. They were also finalist to the 28th Grand prix (Conseil des arts de Montréal, 2012), and recipient of three prix Opus “International Outreach” (2007), “Contemporary Disc of the Year” (2004), and “Discovery of the Year” (2001) as well as the Étoile-Galaxie Prize from Radio-Canada (2001), the Förderpreis Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung (2007), the German Record Critics’ Award for Arbor Vitae (2009) and the Friends of Canadian Music Award (2014)

Heath Quartet
formed in 2002 at the Royal Northern College of Music. There were selected for representation by YCAT, awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Special Ensemble Scholarship and in 2012 won the Ensemble Prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where they are now regular visitors. In 2016 they won the Gramophone Chamber Award for their recording of the complete string quartets of Sir Michael Tippett, and in May 2013 became the first ensemble in fifteen years to win the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artists Award.

Their award-winning release of the Tippett was followed by two discs recorded for the Harmonia Mundi/PIAS label featuring Tchaikovsky’s first and third quartets (November 2016) and the complete Bartók quartets (June 2017), the latter of which won the 2017 Limelight Chamber Music Award and was nominated for the 2018 Gramophone Chamber Music Award – both projects were part-funded by the Quartet’s Borletti-Buitoni Trust Special Ensemble Scholarship 2011.

The 2021/22 season sees the quartet perform around the UK while continuing their longstanding relationship with the Wigmore Hall, to include the European Premiere of Helen Grime’s String Quartet No. 2. This piece will also feature in their Boulez Saal Berlin residency, where the quartet will also reunite with Jörg Widmann for a performance of his Clarinet Quintet. Other highlights include their Barcelona debut in Palau de la Musica Catalana with soprano Carolyn Sampson and performances at both the Mecklenberg Vorpommern spring and summer festivals. The quartet also look forward to their forthcoming release on Signum Records with Carolyn Sampson featuring works by Berg, Webern and Schoenberg.

Booklet for Bracing Change 2