The Doric String Quartet

Programme:
Haydn String Quartet in C major Op 64 No 1, Hob III:65
Brahms String Quartet in C minor Op 51 No 1
John Adams Haydn John’s Book of Alleged Dances (selection)
String Quartet in E-flat major Op 64, No 6, Hob III:64

Widely hailed as a leading quartet of its generation, the Doric String Quartet is noted for its fresh approach and the depth of its interpretation. The ensemble spans the history of the string quartet, from the Classical poise of Haydn (known as ‘the father of the string quartet’) to John Adams’s contemporary wit.

Haydn’s Op 64 quartets are intimate pieces with a relaxed tunefulness — a bracing contrast to the rich textures and restless intensity of Brahms’s C minor quartet. John Adams says that his dances were 'alleged' ‘because the steps for them had yet to be invented'. Dry, droll and sardonic in tone, they bring the artform bang up to date.