THE COULL QUARTET
 
Roger Coull       violin
Philip Gallaway violin
Rose Redgrave  viola
Nicholas Roberts cello
 
‘…the magnificent, seasoned ensemble of the Coull’. (The Strad, October 2007)

Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Warwick since 1977, the Coull Quartet has performed and broadcast extensively throughout the UK, the USA and Western Europe, and has also toured China, India, the Far East, South America and Australia. In the UK the Quartet has appeared at most of the major music societies and festivals, and is frequently invited to take part in P&O Cruises' ‘Music Festivals at Sea’. The Quartet gives an annual series of recitals at the renowned Warwick Arts Centre, where it is actively involved in the University of Warwick’s flourishing musical life.

The rare combination of maturity and freshness which characterises the Quartet’s performances is frequently singled out by reviewers:

“Here the playing is so brimful with enthusiasm and commitment, and at the same time so infused with the accumulated wisdom of three decades, that the music simply reinvents itself as it should”. (The Strad)

The Coull Quartet currently records for Somm Records, and their recent disc of quartets by Maw and Britten has received universal acclaim. In addition to being featured in ‘Editor’s Choice’ in The Gramophone, it was also described as the ‘Benchmark Recording’ by BBC Music Magazine.

“The Coull Quartet have often played Nicholas Maw’s Third Quartet since giving its premiere in 1995, and this recording – in exceptionally lucid sound – testifies to their mastery of its tricky technical details and their sensitivity to its expressive character.….this is an outstanding release.” (The Gramophone)

The Quartet’s extensive discography includes the complete Schubert quartets and the complete Mendelssohn quartets, which were the recommended choice of BBC Radio 3's ‘Record Review’ shortly after their release. Their recording of Robert Simpson’s Quartets Nos. 10 and 11 was highly praised by the New York Times.

In addition to performing most of the standard string quartet repertoire, the Coull Quartet has an impressive list of commissions to its name, including works by Nicholas Maw, Robert Simpson, David Matthews, Ben Wallfisch, Edward Cowie and Julian Phillips.

Their latest release is a CD of music by Alan Ridout for narrator and strings with Richard Baker; their recording of the String Quartet and the Piano Quintet (with Martin Roscoe) by Sibelius will be issued shortly.