Yun-Peng Zhao violin
Léo Marillier violin
Franck Chevalier viola
Alexis Descharmes cello

Janáček Quartet no. 2 (‘Intimate Letters’)
Beethoven Quartet no. 13 in B-flat, op. 130
Beethoven Grosse Fuge, op. 133

One of the most in-demand chamber ensembles on the planet today, Quatuor Diotima frequently performs at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals. They are also committed to coaching young musicians and regularly give residencies and masterclasses at leading universities and conservatoires, including at the University of York where they are an Artist in Association. Quatuor Diotima's rich discography contains a plethora of award-winning recordings including their disc of Janáček’s electrifying quartets. The Czech composer’s Second Quartet (‘Intimate Letters’) was inspired by his friendship with Kamila Stösslová, a married woman 38 years his junior with whom he exchanged over seven hundred letters. The programme also features Beethoven’s Quartet no. 13 in B-flat and his epic Grosse Fuge, which was originally the final movement of op. 130 before it was replaced, at the request of the composer’s publisher, by a short and light-hearted Allegro.

‘Every detail of the string writing … is crystal clear, the shape of each movement utterly lucid’ (The Guardian)