Dreaming
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Bax & Elgar Quartets
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Someone to Watch Over Me
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Stunning new string versions of classic songs, including Cheek to Cheek, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, and What a Wonderful World.
Biography
Kerenza Peacock – violin
Jenny Sacha – violin
Natalia Gomes – viola
Bryony James - cello
“Exceptionally talented” BBC Music Magazine
" An ensemble of real depth and musical distinction" Classic FM Magazine
‘Four finer musicians you could not come across’ Henry Kelly, Classic FM
‘A sparkling performance’ Sean Rafferty, BBC Radio 3
Not many classical string quartets can claim to have played on the Radio 1 Chart Show Live the day after performing Ravel in the Wigmore Hall. But for the Pavão Quartet this was a typical weekend. This versatile ensemble is not only highly-regarded in classical concert venues, but has enjoyed collaborations with renowned rock, pop and jazz artists and even a contemporary dance company.
The Pavão formed 10 years ago at the Royal Academy of Music, where they won many prizes individually and as an ensemble, culminating in their appointment as Chamber Music Fellows for two years. Classical recitals delightfully increased their knowledge of the highways and byways of the British Isles, besides taking them to the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Gateshead’s Sage and Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall. In addition to an intensive UK schedule, their art has also given them opportunities to observe the skyscrapers of New York and the Great Wall of China, the Arabian desert and Jerusalem’s ‘Wailing Wall’, and an arc of European cities from Lisbon to Warsaw.
A CD of encore repertoire, Someone to Watch Over Me, launched their increasingly successful recording career, leading to prolonged playings on Classic FM, Radio 3 and Radio 2, including on Michael Parkinson’s show and ‘Friday Night is Music Night’. A recent disc of quartets by Bax and Elgar has been welcomed as ‘a real winner’ from ‘an ensemble of real depth and musical distinction’ (Classic FM Magazine), with ‘plenty of energy, precision and clarity’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘an intoxicating warmth and emotional spontaneity’ (The Strad Magazine). Music Web International christened it disc of the month, ‘an unqualified success – a real must-have!’ Their Christmas Collection for Breakthrough Breast Cancer also became the soundtrack of Christmas for many people, on disc and radio.
Although the great canon of music for string quartet is at the heart of their being, they enjoy exploring other worlds-through working with the award-winning Henri Oguike Dance Company, collaborating with jazz saxophonist Iain Ballamy, and performing with singers as diverse as Sir Willard White, Andrew Kennedy, Elaine Paige, Hayley Westenra, Charlotte Church and Victoria Hart. The Pavão’s experience in the studio has led to them recording for TV, the West End and film; recording music Andrew Lloyd Webber, and even the X-Factor.
Highlights of the last decade include performing the Mendelssohn Octet on a set of Stradivarius instruments on loan from the Royal Academy, and also the opportunities they have had to reach further into the community by playing in schools and hospices. They play on a set of old Italian and French instruments on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.
Their latest CD, ‘Dreaming’, was released this year and is available online and in stores.
‘…the talented Pavão Quartet never resort to superficial gimmicks, offering playing that is extremely assured with a meticulous sense of ensemble.’ BBC Music Magazine
‘An ensemble of real depth and musical distinction. With a light, beautifully integrated sound, their account of Bax's First Quartet is a real winner (try the sorrowful slow movement or the lively finale). They bring to the exactly contemporaneous Elgar a grace and emotional intensity that is quite the equal of other more established quartets' Classic FM Magazine
‘There’s plenty of energy, precision and clarity, with an impressive sense of lively rapport between four players.’ Stephen Johnson – BBC Music Magazine
In collaboration with other artists
Hayley Westenra – Winter Magic (2009)
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Victoria Hart with The Pavão Quartet - The Lost Gershwin (2008)
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Peter Warlock, Andrew Kennedy, The Pavão Quartet, et al. - The Curlew (2006)
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Dominic Alldis, The Pavão Quartet, et al. - Themes From French Cinema (2005)
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