Guildhall questions: Accendo Quartet answers

The LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists recital series sees senior Guildhall musicians take to the Barbican Hall stage before LSO concerts with free performances of complementary repertoire.

On Sunday 14 October, the Accendo Quartet perform Smetana's String Quartet No 1, setting the mood for the LSO’s evening concert featuring the composer’s evocative Má Vlast.

The Accendo Quarter are Juliette Roos (Guildhall fellow, violin); Sabine Sergejeva (BMus violin); Alexander McFarlane (Guildhall fellow, viola); and Daniel Benn (Guildhall alumnus, cello).

What have you been focusing on in your studies at Guildhall in the last year?

As a quartet, we have been working on homogenising our sound and finding a singular group voice. That’s the difficulty – but also the beauty – of playing in a string quartet.

What are you most looking forward to musically in the coming year?

We are really looking forward to expanding our repertoire as a quartet, discovering composers and periods we have not previously explored in depth. Later this year we will be performing a Bartók string quartet, and we will also be working on a Mozart quartet, which we will present at the Wigmore Hall. It will be a great honour to play in one of the world’s premier chamber music venues.

What makes this piece of music special?

Smetana’s first String Quartet ‘From My Life’ is one of his finest works. It is enthralling to explore a masterpiece that tells the composer’s personal story so intimately. Like Beethoven, Smetana went deaf near the end of his life and composed despite his illness. This condition is represented in this work, along with genial memories of his youth and heartfelt evocations of his first love.

How do you feel to be performing on the Barbican stage?

Performing at the Barbican as a chamber group is both inspiring and daunting. It is challenging to fill the space, which is designed for large-scale orchestral performances, but it is also exciting to perform in such a renowned venue.

Hear the Accendo Quarter perform Smetana's String Quartet No 1 in the Barbican Hall at 5.30pm on Sunday 14 October. Admission is free and unticketed.