Fanny Mendelssohn Quartet
Kaija Saariaho Terra memoria
Schumann String Quartet No 3

Zesty, stylish playing; snappy, bracing interpretations. As its name suggests, Finnish string quartet Meta4 takes a fresh, sometimes unconventional approach to chamber music, but its passion, flair and breathtaking vitality has won it international prizes and global acclaim.

For their International Festival debut, the Meta4 players present a recital of surging emotions. Schumann’s final quartet hints at the composer’s mental fragility in its contrasts of heartrending tenderness and dramatic turmoil. The deeply personal quartet by Fanny Mendelssohn, sister of Felix and long side-lined despite her remarkable musical achievements, is full of haunting lyricism. Completing the all-female first half are the exquisite spectral colours of the meditative, minutely nuanced Terra memoria by the players’ compatriot Kaija Saariaho.