“Take note of the Maxwell Quartet – they bring wit, charisma and a sense of adventure to their programmes” (The New York Times)
Shoreditch’s ancient church, mentioned in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons, provides a very special backdrop for the English premiere of a new piano quintet – We Are Collective – by acclaimed composer Sir James MacMillan. Its tongue-in-cheek flavour is mixed with wisps and allusions of half-forgotten old Scottish songs – here performed by fellow Scots, the Maxwell Quartet – before a finale infused with jazz and blues references.
The spirit of folk music connects the Maxwell Quartet’s own re-workings of Scottish traditional music and Eleanor Alberga’s joyous and energetic String Quartet no 2, while the programme is completed by Cesar Franck’s ultra-expressive piano quintet.
