The brilliant, elusive, fantastical world of Thomas Adès is illuminated in a most evocative collection of seven movements for string quartet, titled Arcadiana. Vanishing visions of the idyll – a Utopian world of natural splendour, both aquatic and pastoral – are conjured by an intricate and highly original string soundscape. One of Britain’s most celebrated composers alive today, Adès composed this work in 1994 and since then, it has gained a place as one of the most inventive and exquisitely crafted string quartets of our time.

Schubert famously remarked of Beethoven’s Op. 131 quartet, “after this, what is left for us to write?” Indeed, it is with a sense of awe and curiosity that musicians and audiences alike have pondered this work over the centuries. In seven movements that flow one into the next, from darkness to light, from solitude to ecstasy, the sheer impact of this epic journey may only be realised long after its final notes have subsided. With this work, the ASQ will embark on a multi-year exploration of Beethoven’s sublime late quartets, sharing their love and admiration for these timeless masterpieces.