Sunday Concert with the Coull Quartet

Tutor information

The Coull Quartet was formed in 1974 by students at the Royal Academy of Music under the guidance of renowned quartet leader Sidney Griller. They rapidly achieved national recognition, and were appointed Quartet-in-Residence by the University of Warwick, a post which they held for over forty years. The Quartet, which includes two of its founder members, has performed and broadcast extensively throughout the UK, and has made many tours of Western Europe, the Americas, Australia, China, India and the Far East.

Since the mid-1980s the Coull Quartet has made over 30 recordings featuring a wide selection of the repertoire closest to their hearts, from the complete Mendelssohn and Schubert quartets to 20th century and contemporary British chamber music. Their CD of quartets by Maw and Britten on the Somm label has received universal acclaim; in addition to being featured in ‘Editor’s Choice’ in The Gramophone, it was also described as the ‘Benchmark Recording’ by BBC Music Magazine. Their recordings of music by Sibelius and Ian Venables have also received excellent reviews in the major musical publications. Recently their CD of Alan Ridout’s Six Quartets has been issued on the Omnibus Classics label, and earlier this year they recorded piano quintets by Amy Beach and Henrique Oswald for the Somm label with pianist Clelia Iruzun.

Their impressive and unusual list of commissions includes works by Sally Beamish, Edward Cowie, Joe Cutler, David Matthews, Nicholas Maw, Robert Simpson and Howard Skempton. These include string quartets, quintets with piano or wind instrument, works with solo voice or choir, and even a piece for quartet and table tennis players.

The rare combination of maturity and freshness which characterises the Quartet’s performances is often singled out by reviewers:

“Here the playing is so brimful with enthusiasm and commitment, and at the same time so infused with the accumulated wisdom of three decades, that the music simply reinvents itself as it should”. (The Strad)

For more information, visit www.coullquartet.com