The Piatti String Quartet
The Piatti Quartet are one of the most distinguished quartets of their generation. Prizewinners at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, they have performed in all the major venues and festivals around the U.K., and given concerts throughout the world, with national broadcasts on BBC Radio, ABC (Australia), RTÉ (Ireland) and France Musique (France).
The Piattis are renowned for their diverse programming and for passionate interpretations across the spectrum of quartet writing. World premieres are regularly performed alongside old masterpieces and the Piattis are particularly known for expanding the quartet genre through their collaborations with leading British composers. Current commissions and recent premieres include new works by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Darren Bloom, Emily Howard (The Music of Proof with celebrated mathematician Marcus du Sautoy), Simon Holt, Freya Waley-Cohen and Jacques Cohen. The quartet have collaborated with artists such as Ian Bostridge, Michael Collins, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Julius Drake, Charles Owen and Guy Johnston.
In 2019, the Piattis’ continue their connection to Mark-Anthony Turnage with the world premiere of his fourth string quartet, Winters Edge, at the Klarafestival, Brussels. Co-commissioned by the Quartet, the Wigmore Hall and Flagey ASBL, further performances include the UK premiere at the Wigmore Hall.
The Quartet previously commissioned Joseph Phibbs’ String Quartet No.1 and a recently released disc for the Champs Hill label features this work alongside the premiere recording of Turnage’s Twisted Blues with Twisted Ballad, with classics by Britten and Bridge. Amongst glowing reviews, a quote from BBC Music Magazine; “... from soothing pastorale to euphoric rock anthem, this excellent album traces an intriguing path through modern British works for quartet...The Piatti Quartet are on ferociously fine form...”
The Quartet’s other lauded recordings have been released on the Linn Records, NMC and Champs Hill labels. Recent seasons have included debuts in Rotterdam, Istanbul, and Barcelona, and at the Aldeburgh Festival.
At the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the Piatti Quartet won 2nd Prize as well as the St. Lawrence SQ prize and the Sidney Griller Award for the best performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Contusion.
The Piattis are keen to pass on their passion to future generations and regularly coach chamber music at the Purcell School, Trinity Laban Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music. The Quartet would like to thank the Britten Pears Foundation, the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust, the Hattori Foundation, the Razumovsky Trust, the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust, and the Fidelio Trust for their support.
The Piatti Quartet takes its name from the great 19th-century cellist Alfredo Piatti, who was a leading professor and exponent of chamber music at the Royal Academy of Music.
