The Romanian Cultural Institute is glad to continue the partnership with St Martin in the Fields, which started back in 2004, with Young Romanian Musicians in London Series. In 2011, Romanian musicians are back in Trafalgar Square with a line up of prodigies and virtuosos.
After Vlad Maistorovici's success of Halo at the Barbican Centre, he comes back within the Romanian series that will open with Mercury Quartet, which represents a very exciting new direction in contemporary music. The series will continue on 26 October with a concert given by Matei Bucur Mihaescu, the child prodigy of contemporary classic music in Romania, a true Romanian Mozart.
Mercury Quartet: Vlad Maistorovici (violin), Corentin Chassard (cello), Antoine Francoise (piano) and Harry Cameron-Penny (clarinet).
Uniquely charting the fine-line between improvisation and composed music, the Mercury Quartet comprises four rising stars of the UK's contemporary music scene: Vlad Maistorovici, Corentin Chassard, Antoine Francoise and Harry Cameron-Penny. The Mercury Quartet represent a very exciting new direction in contemporary music. The incredible talent of this Quartet along with their deep understanding and knowledge of classical repertoire is at the root of their success. Each member is a rising star in their own countries (the Mercury Quartet members hail from Romania, England, France and Switzerland), and the world of contemporary music is very fortunate that this dream team came together back in 2007 when they were initially formed to perform Messiaen's 'Quartet for the End of Time'. The broad range of influences that can be traced in their music give Mercury Acoustic, their debut album, a fantastic breadth of mood and energy, but do not take it into the realms of messy eclecticism. Echoes of Messiaen, Mahler, Buxtehude, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Ligeti, Bartok, Brahms, even Miles Davis and Cecil Taylor can all be heard in the work of the Mercury Quartet, and they manage to bring these disparate styles together effortlessly. Written by Gabriel Prokofiev
When: Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 1pm; Where: St Martin in the Fields,Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ. Free entrance.
