First of all, why do you call yourselves the Zelkova Quartet?
We're called Zelkova for a completely unmusical reason! A zelkova is a type of tree and when the quartet started we wanted to have a name that stood out off the page, was memorable and slightly exotic. Hopefully our concert will leave a similar impression!
As a music society we’d like to see more people enjoying chamber music. What would you say to enthuse someone who is unfamiliar with chamber music?
We like to think chamber music offers a bit of everything that's great about music making. Fantastic repertoire, the fascinating dialogue between different voices, and the individual sounds and personalities of individual players coming together to create a unified sound. And like all great art it shares and discusses the beauties and truths of the world and the human condition.
What do you love about being a member of a string quartet?
As we said, chamber music offers a bit of everything that’s great about music making! And that every performance of a piece can be slightly different from the last. Being a young quartet we also have the luxury of time - we love really getting a piece into our blood!
Would you like to say something about the music you’re going to play for us?
The programme we're playing for you is really eclectic and certainly tests our grasp of different styles. The first half is taken up with works by two Viennese masters from different generations. Mozart's E flat quartet K428 was composed in honour of the father of the string quartet, his contemporary Joseph Haydn. A young Anton Webern composed his Langsamer Satz (Slow movement) as a stand- alone piece while still a student and its lush harmonies and beautiful melodies are a long way from his later atonal style. In the second half we play Frank Bridge's Three Idylls, a collection of short miniatures dedicated to a friend who studied with him and who later became his wife. To finish we'll play the quartet by Ravel, a real favourite of ours, and again a piece from the composer's youth - dedicated to his teacher Gabriel Faure.
I see from your website that you contribute to music education for young musicians.
Yes, we all really enjoy working with young children and showing them what we do. Many have never had the chance to hear a string instrument being played live to them so we often have a captive and excitable audience. Sharing how music works incorporates so many different aspects of primary education - basic skills in science and maths are tested when doing musical exercises and explaining how we make sound. It's a special occasion for the children and their teachers when musicians come into the school so we always feel valued when we make visits.
You have some beautiful photos on your website, taken by Jon Dennis. Whose idea was it to have the shots taken in the countryside?
Jon is a hugely talented photographer who we really enjoyed working with for our shoot. He lives in the beautiful surrounding areas of Glossop and so wasn't short of inspiration for the shots. It was his idea, mainly out of convenience I suppose but we were delighted with the results.
Here’s the desert island question, and you don’t have to answer it! Imagine that you are dropped onto a desert island where you find a pile of musical instruments, but no violins, violas or cellos. Are there any instruments you’d pick up to help you pass the time until you are rescued?
Sounds like perfect boat building material!
Thank you very much for taking time out for this interview. We look forward to hearing you play on 27th November.