Simon Bainbridge: Chamber Music Kreutzer Quartet & Linda Merrick

• Simon Bainbridge (b. 1952):
• 1 Bainbridge: String Quartet No. 1 11:18
• 2 Bainbridge: Clarinet Quintet 18:34
• 3 Bainbridge: Cheltenham Fragments 05:54
• 4 Bainbridge: String Quartet No. 2 21:00
• Total Runtime 56:46

Info for Simon Bainbridge: Chamber Music

The composing career of Simon Bainbridge (born in London in 1952) is spanned by the four chamber works in this album, all of them cast as single narrative spans. The First String Quartet, written when its composer was not yet twenty, blends lyricism and pointillism, rather as if it were recasting abstract poetry in sound; and the recent Second offers a kaleidoscopic tableau of colour and nervous energy inspired by visual art. In his Cheltenham Fragments, as the title suggests, Bainbridge uses mosaic technique to build up textures and thematic outlines. And the long lines of the virtuosic Clarinet Quintet generate fleetfooted whirlwinds as they unfold. Linda Merrick and the Kreutzer Quartet worked closely with the composer on the preparation of these recordings.

Linda Merrick, clarinet
Kreutzer Quartet:
Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin
Mihailo Trandafilovski, violin
Clifton Harrison, viola
Neil Heyde, cello

The Kreutzer Quartet
has rapidly established itself as one of the most sought after string quartets in the UK. They appear regularly at the major London venues and have made many live and studio recordings for the BBC, and major networks all over Europe. They have taken their extremely eclectic programmes to Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Serbia, Montenegro, Sardinia, the US, Spain, Cyprus, Poland, and Lithuania. Recent critical and publically acclaimed performances have been at the Warsaw Autumn Festival, de Doelen, Rotterdam, Quartet 2000, Manchester, and the Vilnius Philharmonic Festival.

The Kreutzers have a busy recording schedule, reflecting their commitment to musical exploration. Following the critical acclaim accorded their releases of cycles of quartets by Gerhard, Finnissy, Birtwhistle, Tippett, and Hallgrimsson, the quartet are in the process of recording and releasing ground-breaking recordings of contemporary music while also keeping a hand in the classical repertoire with a forthcoming Metier disc of Beethoven. They have a particularly strong association with the Metier label, and have also recorded for Naxos, NMC, Chandos, Guild and New Focus.

Linda Merrick
has established an international profile as a clarinet soloist, recording artist and clinician. Specialising in contemporary repertoire, she has commissioned more than 40 works for her instrument by British composers, including 10 concertos, 8 clarinet quintets, and a significant number of smaller scale chamber works and works with electronics. Linda’s catalogue of over 25 solo CD recordings includes new concertos for clarinet and concert band by Gary Carpenter, Nigel Clarke, Martin Ellerby, Kit Turnbull and Guy Woolfenden (Polyphonic), Philip Sparke (Anglo Records) and Stephen McNeff (Campion), plus concertos for clarinet and orchestra by John McLeod (Chandos), Edwin Roxburgh (NMC) and Philip Spratley (Toccata).

Her chamber music output includes premiere recordings of four new clarinet quintets with the Navarra Quartet (Naxos), a new clarinet quintet by John McCabe with the Kreutzer Quartet (Guild), Wilfred Josephs’ Clarinet Quintet (Metier), Robert Crawford’s Clarinet Quintet (Metier) and chamber works by Malcolm Arnold and John Ireland (Maestro), and by Martin Ellerby (ClassicPrint).

Linda has broadcast as a solo artist for BBC Radio 3, Radio France, DRS1, Switzerland, CKWR in Canada and Arte TV in South Korea, and performed as a concerto soloist across America, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, the UAE, and throughout the

UK. She is a founder member of the contemporary ensemble ‘Sounds Positive’, with whom she has premiered over 70 works by British composers, and released 3 CDs. Combining her performing career with work in music education, Linda is regularly invited to give masterclasses at conservatoires across the world. She currently holds the position of Principal and Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK, and is the UK representative for Howarth Clarinets.

Booklet for Simon Bainbridge: Chamber Music