Catherine Manson, violinist, and James Boyd, violist,
inspired to play the Haydn string quartets on gut
strings with classical bows formed the London Haydn
Quartet in 2001. Violinist Michael Gurevich and cellist
Richard Lester complete the quartet. The group has
received critical acclaim for their live performances and
recordings particularly of the Haydn string quartets.
Beethoven’s first string quartet, composed to a
commission by Prince Lobowitz, opens the recital.
One of the ‘Prussian’ quartets by Haydn will then give
the musicians a chance to live up to their name. They
conclude with Mozart’s clarinet quintet, for which the
quartet is joined by period clarinettist Eric Hoeprich.

‘The emphasis on line, clarity and movement found its
fulfilment in a performance that moved from sublimely
beautiful to wrenchingly tragic without slipping out of
scale.’
The Strad