SOLEM QUARTET

Praised for their “immaculate precision and spirit” (The Strad) and “cultured tone” (Arts Desk), the Solem Quartet has established itself as one of the most innovative and adventurous quartets of its generation. 

The Quartet takes pride in creating original and exciting work, and bringing the string quartet genre to unexpected places; this approach has seen them collaborating with Ayanna Witter-Johnson at Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, playing Beethoven and Britten at Picturehouse Cinemas to bring Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Lobster” to life, and performing a lecture-recital of Steve Reich’s Different Trains with broadcaster Tom Service.  

As proud advocates of new music, the Quartet has worked closely with many of today’s leading composers, including Thomas Adès, Edmund Finnis, and Bushra El-Turk; and in recent times, has given world premieres by Ryan Latimer, Errollyn Wallen, and Laurence Oborn’s Lakes, Mists, Bats, Daggers, and Fountains at Wigmore Hall. Equally passionate about collaboration, the Quartet has worked with artists from across genres including vocalist/composer Alice Zawadzki,  filmmaker Jessie Rodger, and clarinettist/composer Mark Simpson, with whom they appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival. In 2024 the Quartet appeared at the Southbank Centre with cellist/composer Philip Sheppard as part of Sleeping at Last’s UK debut, and were featured artists on the BAFTA-nominated Blue Jean (2022) performing a score by composer Chris Roe.

The Solem Quartet are frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and elsewhere, and have released two albums to critical acclaim; their debut album ‘The Four Quarters’ (Orchid Classics, 2021) was described as “a collagist album of constant compulsion” by The Critic, and ‘Painted Light’ (Delphian Records, 2023) received five stars from BBC Music Magazine.