Britten Oboe Quartet
Nicholas Daniel – oboe/cor anglais, Jacqueline Shave – violin, Ting-Ru Lai – viola, Caroline Dearnley – cello
Nicholas Daniel founded the Britten Oboe Quartet together with his colleagues and co-principals of the award-winning Britten Sinfonia; they all bring to this ensemble not only the highest musical standards but also the experience of playing together over many years, resulting in warm, expressive and above all enjoyable playing. They bring music of the highest quality to audiences and to explore lesser-known works, both from Britain and from abroad, as well as standard classics such as Mozart’s oboe quartet.
Their repertoire includes oboe and cor anglais quartets by Britten, Berkeley, Knussen, Elgar, Krommer, Françaix, Gordon Jacob and Elisabeth Lutyens. Their imaginative programming embraces repertoire other than the oboe quartet, often including string trios, solo works such as Britten’s Metamorphoses after Ovid and other chamber music combinations.
They relish the challenge of programming a well-balanced and attractive concert in line with specific themes and can be sure to find something new and interesting for every concert.
The quartet has been heard up and down the UK, from Aberdeen to the Gregynog Festival in Wales, Swaledale and Wimbledon Festivals, Oxford, Brighton, and Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London. Their most recent UK tours have included the RNCM in Manchester, Sheffield and Keele Universities and Djanogly Hall in Nottingham.
Their debut recording A Tribute To Janet was released to great acclaim on the Harmonia Mundi label in 2017.