Elias String Quartet at RNCM

Johnny James, Managing Editor
RNCM

Elias String Quartet at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester 21 November 2022 Tickets from £9.00 — Book now

On 21 November, the internationally celebrated Elias String Quartet will return to the RNCM to perform works by Haydn, Beethoven and Sally Beamish, following their announcement as Artists in Residence at the College.

Formed at the RNCM in 1998, the Elias String Quartet are one of the leading quartets of their generation, praised for their intense and vibrant performances, which they’ve taken around the world. “Few quartets at any stage of their evolution have this much personality”, wrote the Philadelphia Enquirer who caught them on their USA tour, while The Strad remarked on the ensemble’s ability to “live and breathe each phrase with an enraptured sensitivity which proves revelatory.”

The ensemble – Sara Bitlloch and Donald Grant (violins), Simone van der Giessen (viola) and Marie Bitlloch (cello) – have had a long association with the RNCM, culminating in their being named as Artists in Residence – an exciting announcement for budding string musicians at the College. Through workshops, teaching and performance, the Quartet will work closely with students during the RNCM’s anniversary year, giving them the invaluable opportunity of full immersion in string quartet training with a leading ensemble.

The 21 November concert is the first of two special events featuring the Elias (the second coming in spring 2023). The evening starts with Haydn’s String Quartet No 39 in F minor, seen as one of the composer’s most challenging and unsettling works. Next, it’s Sally Beamish’s Reed Stanzas, first premiered by the Elias at the 2011 Proms. “Reed” in the work’s title connotes areas of marsh and fen, and speaks to the landscape of the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, where part of the work was written. Beamish also draws on the Gaelic roots of Donald Grant, making the most of the Elias’ second violinist’s talent as a Scottish fiddle player as well as violinist.

The Elias String Quartet have long been celebrated for their subtle and fiery interpretations of Beethoven, and so the composer’s String Quartet No 8 in E minor seems a fitting way to conclude this concert. Known for its intensity and characteristically Slavic themes, the second of Beethoven’s ‘Rasumovksy’ quartets is a tense and tumultuous piece, which never allows us to drift into complacency as moments of quiet anxiety explode into ferocious outbursts.

The concert is one of many highlights from the RNCM’s Autumn Season. Read our full highlights in our dedicated guide.

Elias String Quartet at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester 21 November 2022 Tickets from £9.00 Book now

Two dancers and orchestra on stage
Until
DanceManchester
Dance:Music at the RNCM

Through a treasure trove of concerts, the RNCM’s initiative Dance:Music explores the symbiotic relationship between music and dance.

from £0.00

Where to go near Elias String Quartet at RNCM

Manchester
Restaurant
San Carlo Fumo

San Carlo Fumo is a sun trap on St Peter’s Square, serving up traditional Italian food at its best

Utility Gift Shop
Manchester
Shop
Utility Gift Shop

Utility Gift Shop on Oxford Road is all about products that are new, unique, quirky and cool. High street shopping at its best.

exterior of Contact Theatre building
Manchester
Theatre
Contact Theatre

Following a major redevelopment, the iconic venue on Oxford Road will be reopening its doors to welcome the public back into the building this autumn. 

The Salutation pub in Manchester
Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Salutation

This traditional boozer, surrounded by imposing flats and university buildings, was taken over by Trof (of the Deaf Institute fame). The Sally, as the regulars call it, hosts an energetic, arty crowd – and its recently expanded outside area is another good reason to visit.

What's on: Music

Rock and Goal
Until
ActivityManchester
Rock and Goal Tour

Join Joe Feeley a Mancunian through and through, who guides you into Manchester’s two pillars of cultural excellence with his Rock and Goal tour.

from £9.99
A black woman sat down looking to the left.
Until
MusicLeeds
Sound Out Leeds 2024/25

Leeds International Concert Season is on a mission to push boundaries, expand horizons, and ask the question: ‘What haven’t we heard?’ as it presents its city-spanning Sound Out Leeds series.

from £10.00
Two dancers and orchestra on stage
Until
DanceManchester
Dance:Music at the RNCM

Through a treasure trove of concerts, the RNCM’s initiative Dance:Music explores the symbiotic relationship between music and dance.

from £0.00

Culture Guides

A woman sits in a car with hands holding the steering wheel.
Cinema in the North

Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.