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Asaka Quartet
This is to say a massive thank you for such a brilliant evening's music-making for us in Edenbridge on Saturday. Your energy, musicianship, enthusiasm and enjoyment were so infectious. The audience loved it, and, as I said, many of us will be following your careers with eager anticipation.
The quartet displayed a remarkable mastery of a varied programme of music. Throughout, the Asaka Quartet brought a youthful exuberance to a testing programme, and thoroughly delighted their audience.
Quartet - String Quartet
Instrumentation
- Iona McDonald - Violin
- Eriol Guo Yu - Violin
- Susie Xin He - Viola
- Jonathan Ho Man Fong - Cello
Repertoire
Bax, Quartet No. 1 in G major
Beethoven, Quartet in G major Op. 18 No. 2
Beethoven, Quartet in C minor Op. 18 No. 4
Brahms, Quartet in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1
Bridge, Quartet No.1 in E minor ‘Bologna’
Mozart, 'Hunt' Quartet No. 17 in B flat major
Haydn, Quartet in D minor, Op.76 No.2 Hob III:76 ‘Fifths’
Haydn, Quartet in B minor Op. 33 No. 1
Mayer Emilie, Quartet in G minor No.1
Mendelssohn, Quartet in E flat major, Op. 12 No. 1
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Quartet in Eb major
Danish String Quartet selection
Price Florence, 5 Folk Songs In Counterpoint
Prokofiev, Quartet No. 2 in F, Op. 92
Shaw Caroline, ‘Entr’acte’
Biography
The Asaka Quartet is a prizewinning string quartet formed in 2021 at the Royal Academy of Music in London where they are currently Chamber Music Fellows for 2022/23. Yielding from China, Hong Kong and Scotland, the Asaka’s each bring with them their own identities. They pride themselves on communicating their enjoyment of making music together and sharing this with their audiences, with a keen interest in music by underrepresented composers.
Asaka were 1st prize winners in the Wolfe Wolfinsohn String Quartet Competition at the Royal Academy of Music in July 2022 for their performance of Beethoven’s String Quartet Opus 18 No.2 in G major. They attended the Tunnell Trust's Chamber Music Coll in June 2022 and are delighted to be returning to Music Coll again in 2023. The quartet have been mentored closely by Martin Outram since 2021, when they were selected for the prestigious Frost Trust Advanced Specialist Strings Ensemble Training Scheme (A.S.S.E.T.) at the Academy.
Upcoming highlights include residency with Ferrandou Musique in May 2023 as well as appointment as this years String Apprentices at the Southwell Music Festival. Moreover, they are delighted to have been invited to perform at the prestigious Petworth Festival in July 2023 premiering a new work for string quartet by composer Ned Bigham, and will also perform at the opening of the Dinard Festival, France in August 2023. In November 2023, they will embark on a tour of Hong Kong as part of the Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme as well as a Scotland tour in January 2024.
Asaka also enjoy working with young musicians. In November 2022 they visited the Poole Society for Young Musicians to coach the young chamber ensembles, and they are very much looking forward to return for more masterclasses and a recital in April 2023. They have also presented workshops introducing the String Quartet to primary school children across Exmoor as part of the Two Moors Festival.
As close friends, growing up on opposite sides of the world to the most contrasting of cultures, they have a keen interest in learning and experiencing new things, which lead them to enjoy discovering and sharing underrepresented music. Through presenting creative and innovative programmes, they invite their audiences to discover new repertoire from a fresh and exciting perspective.
Asaka are delighted to have been selected for The Stoller Hall’s ‘Emerging Artists Scheme’ 2023.
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