Daniel Tong, founding member of the Ensemble says:

 

“  We give performances of some of the most celebrated and best-loved works from the chamber music repertoire. More unusually, we also aim to create programmes which highlight the work of a particular musical school or culture. For instance, our Wigmore Hall début presented the music of English composer Frank Bridge alongside that of his French contemporary Gabriel Fauré, giving the audience a wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast their work.

 

Similarly, at the Ponte de Lima Festival in Portugal we have performed less familiar pieces by Josef Suk and Martinů alongside Dvořák’s great Piano Quartet in E flat. This highlighted the development and shared influences of Czech music over a

fifty-year period, whilst presenting some rarely-heard pieces in the context of one of the great chamber works of the repertoire.

 

As our name suggests and you’ll hear on some of the sound clips, we also have a special affinity with British music. We have just released a CD of music by Frank Bridge on the Dutton label and for our Wigmore début in 2005, commissioned David Matthews to write a new piece for baritone and piano quartet.

 

Last but not least, we passionately believe in encouraging audiences to explore how many of the greatest exponents of vocal writing were also masterful chamber composers. So we perform these works alongside each other, and also take this approach to its logical conclusion by featuring works written specially for voice and ensemble. Do take a look at our suggested programmes and listen to our sound clips to get an idea of the kind of repertoire we can offer.”