BBC Music Magazine: CD review, 2021

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

5 Stars: Recording of the Month, December 2021

“the ensemble play with real sincerity... the musicians seem to feel the music just as it is, complex on the surface but direct and straight from the heart... From their full-blooded yet flexible tone to their intelligent handling of the ebb and flow, {Eusebius Quartet} offer a joyous feast of Korngold at his finest.” - Jessica Duchen

The Strad: CD review, 2021

“... all are played with an infectious sense of the music’s charm and wit... strongly personal yet authentically Viennese-sounding playing from the Eusebius foursome.” - Matthew Rye

Gramophone: CD review, 2021

“clear, slender-toned pleasure... what the Eusebius deliver here is convincing and stylish.” - Charlotte Gardner

MusicWeb International: CD review, 2021

“With their excellent dynamic palette and wealth of tone, the Eusebius Quartet, superbly aided and abetted by Beatson, give off a powerful impression of something far grander than a merefive instruments.” -Marc Rochester

Praised as “convincing and stylish” by Gramophone, the Eusebius Quartet was formed in 2016 out of a passion for the extraordinary music written for this formation. They have gained a reputation for imaginative performances possessing “full-blooded yet flexible tone” (BBC Music Magazine).  Their debut CD, featuring the chamber music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold with pianist Alasdair Beatson, was released in October 2021 by SOMM Recordings to widespread critical acclaim, including being named as Recording of the Month by BBC Music Magazine in January 2022. 

The London based string quartet has toured throughout Europe and to Santa Fe, USA, alongside more recent performances closer to home including appearances at Kings Place, Conway Hall and Glyndebourne. Recent highlights include performances of the Mendelssohn Octet with the Heath Quartet at the Tetbury Festival, and Vaughan Williams ‘On Wenlock Edge’ with tenor Nicky Spence at the Lewes Chamber Music Festival. In 2018 they were finalists in the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition, and continue to frequently perform live on BBC Radio 3. They are regular guests at numerous chamber music festivals including the Lewes Chamber Music Festival, of which first violinist Beatrice Philips is the Artistic Director and founder. The quartet were awarded a residency at Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape Maltings in 2019, where they worked with one of their mentors, Hungarian pedagogue and pianist Rita Wagner. The residency culminated in performances as part of the Aldeburgh Festival. 

The Eusebius Quartet has collaborated with many wonderful musicians including pianists Alasdair Beatson and Bengt Forsberg; clarinettists Matt Hunt and Michael Collins; oboist Daniel Bates; bassoonist Amy Harman and tenor Nicky Spence. The members of the quartet first met as teenagers and then again later at IMS Prussia Cove, reuniting as a quartet after completing their respective studies. Between them they bring influences from their rich and diverse musical backgrounds, having each studied at leading international conservatoires, namely the Juilliard School, New York, the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music, London and the Paris Conservatoire.

The quartet takes its name from one of the two fictional characters invented by Robert Schumann for his musical journal writings. These characters became symbolic of Schumann’s opposing moods: the fiery and impassioned Florestan contrasted the philosophical and dreamy Eusebius. 

Update coming soon 

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