Obert String Quartet
Saturday 7th March, 7:30pm
Preconcert talk 6:45 with Lisa Obert, Jenny Jackson,
Ben Gaunt, James Cave and James Else
Late Music is opening its 2026 season with two concerts celebrating performers and composer from the North of England. First up, the Salford-based Obert String Quartet, featuring players from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, explores themes of transformation, spirituality, and mortality.
The first half of the programme will feature works by Bradford born Steve Crowther and York based James Else, alongside Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, to which Else’s piece responds. The second half will feature 5 composers from the Northern Composers Network creating fresh responses to Scubert’s iconic string quartet ‘Death and the Maiden’ D.810, the second movement of which will conclude the concert.
This concert highlights the range of music that is possible for this most enigmatic pf ensembles, from sparse slow unfolding sequences to the rapid perpetual motion. However, perhaps more importantly it demonstrates the emotional weight that this music can take as melodies and harmonies transform into contemplations of spirituality, mortality and beauty.
Photo Credit: Drew Forsyth and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (Top Left & Bottom Left)
Programme
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
James Else: On the wind
Steve Crowther: String Quartet No.2
– Interval –
Selection of miniatures by Northern Composers Network composers in response to Schubert:
Jenny Jackson: Flex (WP)
Hayley Jenkins: Give me your hand (WP)
Ben Gaunt: Skulls, Various (Low Battery) (WP)
James Cave: Rouffignac (WP)
James Else: Still Movement (WP)
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor D810“Death and the Maiden” (2nd movement)