Winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Chamber Music in 2007, the Dante Quartet is known for the emotional intensity of its performances and combines imaginative programming with a keen dedication to the core repertoire.The Dante Quartet was founded in 2005 on friendships made at the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove, Cornwall, and chose the name of Dante to reflect the idea of a great and challenging journey. The quartet plays at major concert halls, music societies, and festivals throughout the UK; broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio 3; and performs in France, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, and Finland.
In 2001, the Dante Quartet won critical acclaim for its recording of Edmund Rubbra's quartets. Other recordings include romantic Russian works by Lyapunov & Gretchaninov, and a collection of English works for string quartet and tenor with Andrew Kennedy. 2008 will see their quartets of Franck and Faure.
The Dante Quartet enjoys a special association with King's College, Cambridge, where it collaborates with the renowned King's College Choir, gives master classes, and attracts new audiences to quartet concerts by combining music with poetry. Several new commissions for the Dante Quartet are underway in connection with their "Divine Comedy Project", for which composers are invited to write pieces inspired by various aspects of Dante's epic trilogy.
