Members of the Kamus quartet, founded in Helsinki in 2002, studied at the Sibelius Academy, the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA), and the Britten Pears Academy in Aldeburgh, UK. This outstanding ensemble comes with a glowing international reputation not only for mastery of the classical string quartet repertoire but also for their exploration of contemporary works.

Recently, they have toured Mexico, UK, Belgium, Sweden, and the Netherlands where they made a celebrated Concertgebouw debut in Amsterdam. Recordings from Kamus have gained wide plaudits and their live performances have been praised in the Helsingin Sanomat as “perfectly blended  [where] the brilliance of each individual shines through”.

Our season will open with a new composition, Flickereth, by Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski, commissioned by the Kamus quartet. The three movements may evoke feelings of fluttering of the heart, flapping of sails, or flickering of light. Wennäkoski’s growing reputation has won her many commissions including from the Finnish RSO, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish String Quartet, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Her works have been performed at the Carnegie Hall (NYC), the Walt Disney Hall (LA), and at the Last Night of the Proms in the Albert Hall (London).

The concert will continue with Shostakovich’s much-loved quartet No.8. The five movements are played without a break, and, despite its austere and melancholy mood, it has become a firm favourite of the repertoire. Seen by some as a deeply autobiographical work expressing the composer’s personal anguish, it resonates with contemporary audiences as a profound testament to humanity’s ability to transcend extreme adversity.

The final work today is the masterful five-movement quartet in D minor, Op.56 by Sibelius. Often spare and brooding, the notation ‘Intimate Voices’ added by the composer to the Adagio suggests both the conversational quality of chamber music and the introspection that lies at the centre of this piece. The fierce driving finale will be a perfect ending to this Nordic-flavoured afternoon of exceptional music.