The Mercury Quartet

The award-winning Mercury Quartet comprises four rising stars of the UK and Europe's contemporary music scene: Vlad Maistorovici (violin/viola), Corentin Chassard (cello), Harry Cameron-Penny (clarinets) and Antoine Francoise (piano/sax).

Their four main areas of activity are in Commissioning new works, Performing established repertoire (either as a quartet or alongside internationally renowned guest artists), Live Composition and Education work.

Notably they held a position as professors and performers at Dartington International Summer School (2010) where they first worked with Linda Hirst and Julian Anderson.

They also won Non Classical’s first ever ‘Battle of the Bands’ to find young talent in contemporary music, this led to the recording and release (worldwide distribution by Naxos) of their debut CD ‘Mercury Acoustic’.

NEWS! Mercury give Romanian premiere of Ades 'Catch' and RADAR success continues into 2012!

After two well received and well attended Mercury RADAR's in September and November of 2011 we move forward with the series based at The Forge, in Camden. Four concerts for this year are planned for 19th March, 25th June, 5th October and TBC December with commissions from Edmund Finnis, Steven Daverson, Jonas Kocher and Christian Mason already confirmed. Some repertoire is yet to be confirmed but the programmes will also include works by Knussen, Benjamin, Matthews, Schoenberg, Mark Simpson, Ades and Romanian master Dan Dediu.


* In December of 2011 the Mercury Quartet toured Romania, where as well as giving recitals in venues including the Enescu Palace and Ploiesti Filharmonica, they worked with the composition department at the Bucharest Conservatoire. Their composition workshops were very well received and they were immediately invited back for an extended return visit to the conservatoire in 2012. They have also been invited for concerts and festivals throughout Romania.

* A highlight of 2011 was giving the Romanian premiere of Thomas Ades' virtuoso quartet 'Catch'. This was at the Ploiesti Filharmonica and was expertly captured on film and uploaded to youtube. Watch us play 'Catch' here and also in the media section of our website.

* Buy our album at the NonClassical store or, if you have some iTunes gift tokens to spend then it can be purchased through the iTunes store here.

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'The Mercury Quartet's timely arrival marks the beginning of a new approach to improvised classical music.'

Gabriel Prokofiev (NonClassical), September 2010

'The free improvisations from the Mercury Quartet traced fascinatingly circuitous routes from noise to almost-tonal “normality” and back again.'

Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph, January 2011

'Having been a member of a quartet (Electric Phoenix) for ten years, and having worked with several others (Kronos; Arditii; Hilliard Ensemble), the Mercury are right up there and will have an exciting future.'

Linda Hirst (Head of Vocal Faculty, Trinity College of Music, October 2010