Reviews
'The excellently gutsy Sacconi Quartet'
The Times, September 2012
'The young British Sacconi Quartet provided the musical backdrops, with immaculate playing and precise ensemble, bringing Deazley’s characterful music to colourful life.'
The Edinburgh Reporter, November 2011
'To start the concert, the Sacconi Quartet delighted in Haydn, distinguished by clean, classical playing, often with sparing vibrato. Both in Haydn and in Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden', the leader’s delicate phrases...were matched in the ‘Death’ second movement by finely balanced chording and blend from his colleagues...the Sacconi Quartet is a young group to watch out for.'
The Classical Source, October 2011
'...a sensational and revealing new recording... Here is a superlative disc from the Sacconi Quartet, on their own label, with a treasure trove of top-drawer performances from the rich Bohemian repertoire. I absolutely love their warm, deeply idiomatic performance of Dvorak’s American Quartet, probably the best-loved and most recorded piece in all Czech chamber music. Competition is fierce in this corner. In recent times there have been new recordings of the piece from the Wihan Quartet (too reverberant and leader-dominated for this palate) and the Pavel Haas Quartet (outstanding, but aggressively in your face). To these ears the Sacconi’s version is a better choice: spacious, unforced, but losing none of the pell-mell exhilaration in the finale. And I have never heard a more characterful and sympathetic account of Smetana’s First Quartet, with a brilliant performance of the Scherzo, whose middle section is almost hilarious in its portrayal of rustic dancing. And Josef Suk’s haunting Meditation on an old Czech hymn is a beauty.'
The Scottish Herald, July 2011
'This Czech programme suits the infectious bounce and fizz of the Sacconis, who bring Dvořák's songful "American" quartet to vivid life and drive along the dance-like second movement of Smetana's Quartet No 1 with an irrepressible swing. But it's not all party hats and streamers: Smetana's story was a tragic one, ending in the nightmare of deafness. His quartet carries the title "From My Life", and the sensitive Sacconis bear solemn witness to his sorrowful journey into silence. Equally, they create a reverential stillness in Suk's Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn, a single-movement work of fervent yet dignified Czech nationalism, written as the first world war doused all the festive lights across Europe.
The Observer, July 2011
'The Sacconi, a fast rising British string quartet...bring something fresh and distinctive. Dvorak's American Quartet has a light touch and springy rhythms that suit the music perfectly. ... I loved Suk's Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn St Wenceslas'
The Times, June 2011
'...a beautifully shaped reading of the second of Beethoven's op.18. Then with pure youthful exuberance came Ravel's Quartet, a score these players have recently recorded and which here sizzled with their enviable technical prowess, the pizzicato second movement exploding with the brilliance of fireworks.'
The Strad, November 2010
'the Sacconi stand out from the crowd, the critics unstinting in their praise for the British newcomers.'
Yorkshire Post, September 2010
'These are fascinating works, and the players respond intelligently to ideas that must have startled the more conventional Parisians...This is good Haydn playing.'
International Record Review, June 2010
Ample vigour in the vivace movements, yet space is allowed to capture the witticism in a turn of phrase; when the mood darkens in the adagio of No 2 the players provide a rich, Gypsy-inflected hues. These are performances to treasure and one awaits eagerly the next release from the ensemble's new label.
Classical Music Magazine, April 2010
Haydn’s urbanity provided an excellent foil for the Smetana quartet that followed. Entitled by its composer ‘From my Life’ this autobiography-in-music was given the most dramatic and intense performance I have ever heard...The whole performance received a vociferous ovation; it was a remarkable achievement by these marvellous young players.
Ilkely Gazette, April 2010
The Sacconi Quartet is well up with their competitors, and their recorded account of the marvellous "Tost" Op. 54 set, with extended flights of fancy weaved for the eponymous commissioning merchant/violinist, has all the feeling of live music-making that cannot be taken for granted in studio recordings. Hearing three short samples on their website should convince you.
Musical Pointers, February 2010
The performance of the Haydn Quartet was a superb achievement ... In the first movement, an amiable Allegretto leading into the medium paced allegro, they played with an effortlessness that shaded the transition from one tempo to the other smoothly, ensuring that there should be no jolt as the music changed. The slow movement is one of Haydn’s most deeply felt, and here the players clearly grasped all of the music's profundity. The minuet and trio were delightful, especially the trio which is led by the cello, and realising that the finale, although marked Presto, can lose some of its character if played too quickly, the quartet wisely chose a steadier pace which allowed them to bring out all of the humour and joy in the piece. The Sacconis have been together since 2001 and on the strength of this performance they deserve to go far. Who knows what they might achieve on reaching 70 themselves?
Musicweb International, September 2009
In Haydn's Op.50 No.1 they maintained an excellent balance and a clear, identical articulation, which developed into a gentle relationship between tension and relaxation by means of many, neatly elaborated details. In a proper English manner, they also made the audience listen carefully to the Beethoven Quartet Op.18 No.4.Dynamically highly sophisticated…it was altogether delicately realized in the Viennese Haydn tradition.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, October 2007
The excellent Sacconi Quartet
Evening Standard, July 2006
We heard Elgar's String Quartet in E minor, and the Piano Quintet in A minor for which the quartet were joined by Gary Matthewman. Both performances revealed the warmly attuned ensemble of this outstanding young quartet. And they caught to a nicety both the melancholy within Elgar's musical expression of the passage of time, and the impassioned energy of his own composing present. Ben Hancox, the quartet's leader, was accompanied by Matthewman in a movingly perceptive performance of Elgar's E minor Violin Sonata.
The Times, June 2007
The young Sacconi Quartet rose wonderfully to such demands with sustained chording of great power and sweetness whose every nuance filled the sizeable space to its edges, creating the illusion of intimate closeness.
The Spectator, October 2008
In this performance by a fine young group with a beautiful blend of sound, the result was highly engaging.
The Times, February 2009
The Sacconi's performance of Britten's Second Quartet had genuine substance, combined with a seemingly effortless command of the composer's difficult string-writing.
The Daily Telegraph, April 2006
The Sacconis have been together barely seven years, but there are wise heads on these young shoulders. Not for them the razzle-dazzle that so often tempts youthful groups. Of course they have solid techniques, but the music, rather than their own personalities, seems always uppermost in their approach.
The mood was intimate, wonderfully devoid of overstatement. The slow movement was utterly riveting, night music in the Bartok vein. The Sacconis are definitely here for the long term.
York Press, March 2008
This might be playing with an element of the freshness and impetuosity of youth, but it is also playing with a depth of understanding.
The Herald, August 2006
An exceptional ensemble with sharp ears, a unanimous sense of musical breath and a meticulous attention to details.
Beautifully well-balanced playing, delicate, serious and formal.Enthralling and engaging performance.
Musical Opinion, May-June 2006
The festival sensation, the young Sacconi Quartet completely bowled over a packed audience.The chemistry between these four young players is tangible and magical.
The Sacconi met these challenges with complete assurance, immersing themselves at the deepest levels, yet putting the music across with a freshness and simplicity that completely absorbed the listener.
The Scotsman, July 2005
