Mendelssohn String Quartet No.2, Op.13
Shostakovich String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor Op. 108
Ravel String Quartet in F major

Made up of four of our most outstanding young artists, the Ophelia Quartet made their concert debut earlier this summer at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. Mendelssohn wrote his celebrated Op.13 quartet as a teenager, just a few months after Beethoven’s death, and in deep fascination with the master’s late quartets. Shostakovich’s seventh quartet was written in 1960 and is the shortest of the composer’s fifteen extraordinary string quartets. It is a masterpiece of concise expressivity, capturing a wide range of often conflicting emotions. Ravel’s 1903 quartet exudes a heady blend of classicism and exoticism which has seen it become a firm favourite amongst both musicians and audiences.