Formed in 2001 at the Royal College of Music, the Sacconi Quartet is rapidly gaining an enviable reputation as one of the outstanding quartets of their generation. Last year the Quartet won 2nd Prize at the 2006 London International String Quartet Competition, along with the Esterhazy Prize & Sydney Griller Award, following their 1st Prize win in the 2005 Trondheim International String Quartet Competition. They also won the Kurtag Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 1st Prize in the Royal Over-Seas League chamber music competition and were shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society award. In May 2006 the Quartet was selected for representation by Young Concert Artists Trust (YCAT), and in August 2006 was awarded an Angel Award by The Herald newspaper for outstanding performances in the Edinburgh Festival.
Engagements 2006/2007 included return visits to Wigmore Hall, concerts at Cadogan Hall, St. George's Bristol, the Canterbury, Bangor New Music, Bury St. Edmunds, Winchester, Gregynog and Lincoln Mozart Festivals. Abroad the Quartet has appeared at the St. Olav Festival in Trondheim, Norway and given recitals in Geneva, Barcelona and France. They have collaborated with the Chilingirian Quartet, Wihan Quartet, Gary Matthewman, David Campbell, Morgan Szymanski, Tim Boulton, Lawrence Power and Raphael Wallfisch in quintet, sextet and octet concerts.For 2008, plans include a series of concerts in Switzerland, and recitals in the Musikverein in Vienna and in the prestigious Liceo da Camara series in Madrid. The Quartet will also tour throughout the UK with Acoustic Triangle, the renowned classical-jazz trio, performing written and improvised music in some of the country's most spectacular cathedrals and abbeys.
The Quartet's recording of Finzi's song cycle By Footpath and Stile with baritone Roderick Williams was released on Naxos in 2006 and received four- and five-star reviews in all the national broadsheets and BBC Music Magazine. In 2007 the Quartet gave the world premiere of John Metcalf's first string quartet, and in 2008 will give the world premiere of Robin Holloway's String Quartet No.2.
The Sacconi Quartet is a member of the Royal College of Music's New Generation Scheme, supported by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. They pursue a keen interest in education work, collaborating with the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust and others, making regular visits to schools, hospitals and community venues.
The name Sacconi Quartet comes from the outstanding twentieth-century Italian violin maker and restorer Simone Sacconi, whose book The Secrets of Stradivari is considered an indispensable reference for violin makers.
SACCONI STRING QUARTET
- Ben Hancox violin
- Hannah Dawson violin
- Robin Ashwell viola
- Cara Berridge cello
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