Heath Quartet

string quartet

Thursday 9th October 2025

7.30pm Morpeth Methodist Church

Programme (on occasion, the artists may make minor changes to the published programme)

Schumann Quartet Op. 41 No 2 in F major

Thomas Larcher Cold Farmer

Matthew Locke

Fantasia, Courante, Ayre and Sarabande from Suite III

Curtain Tune and Lilk from The Tempest

Beethoven Quartet Op. 135 No 16 in F major

An established 'young' British string quartet, the Heath Quartet formed in 2002 at the Royal Northern College of Music. Their illustrious career includes international prizes and membership of the Young Classical Artists Trust scheme. Recently, the quartet has performed with pianist Steven Osborne at the BBC Proms and collaborated with Tom Poster, Ben Goldscheider and the Elias String Quartet.

The programme opens with a Schumann quartet in F major dedicated to his friend Felix Mendelssohn. The quartet will introduce us to two less familiar names, the contemporary Austrian composer Thomas Larcher with his minimalist influenced Cold Farmer and English Baroque composer Matthew Locke. The second half of the programme is dedicated to Beethoven's quartet Op. 135 No 16 in F major which was his last completed major work. In the manuscript of the work, Beethoven wrote Muß es sein? (Must it be?) under the opening of the last movement - and answered his own question under the main theme of the movement, Es muß sein! (It must be!). This exchange is said to be his response to chasing a friend for repayment of a debt!

Maja Horvat - violin

Sara Wolstenholme – violin

Gary Pomeroy – viola

Christopher Murray – cello

'A quartet worth travelling a long way to hear'

Charleshutchpress - Martin Dreyer

More about the Heath quartet from their website :

MAJA HORVAT, SARA WOLSTENHOLME, VIOLINS
GARY POMEROY, VIOLA
CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, CELLO

One of the most established British String Quartets, the Heath Quartet formed in 2002 at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. They were selected for representation by YCAT, won the 2008 TROMP competition, and the 2012 Ensemble Prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where they are now regular visitors. In 2016 they won the GRAMOPHONE Chamber Award for their recording of the Tippett quartets, and in May 2013 became the first ensemble in fifteen years to win the prestigious RPS Young Artists Award. Their Tippett album was followed by two discs recorded for Harmonia Mundi/PIAS and part-funded by a BBT Special Ensemble Scholarship featuring Tchaikovsky’s first and third quartets (BBC Radio 3 Disc of the Week) and the complete Bartók quartets (2017 Limelight Chamber Music Award; nominated for 2018 GRAMOPHONE Chamber Award).

Their most recent release on Signum Records with Carolyn Sampson features works by Berg, Webern and Schoenberg. Recent highlights include a two-season residency at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, their Barcelona debut in Palau de la Musica Catalana, a Beethoven series at Bath Festival, debuts at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Saffron Hall and Cheltenham Festival, as well as concerts at Handelsbeurs Ghent, Aldeburgh and Norfolk & Norwich festivals.

In the 2023/24 season, the Heath Quartet toured the USA, gave a live broadcast with Steven Osborne for the BBC Proms, and in BBC Radio 4's How to Play; a special programme focussing in Schuberts 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet. They gave the inaugural concert at the newly renovated Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and enjoyed collaborations with, amongst others, Tom Poster, Ben Goldscheider and the Elias String Quartet.

In 2025 The Heath Quartet became String Quartet in Residence at Middlesex University.