The Butter Quartet consists of four musicians brought together by their mutual love of vibrant historically-informed performance of string quartets. They have been featured in international festivals in Europe, and their performances have been broadcast on national classical radio in the Netherlands, France, Slovenia, and the UK.
The ensemble has performed at The String Quartet Biënnale Amsterdam, the York Early Music Festival, the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Mozartfest Würzburg, and the Beethoven Academy at the National Forum for Music in Poland. Their performances have been broadcast on national classical radio in the Netherlands, France, Slovenia, and the UK.
The Butter Quartet enjoys integrating their research on late 18th- and early 19th-century performance practice into engaging performances. They also bring the same spirit of discovery to newly-composed works for historically-setup instruments.
After five years of performing together internationally, the quartet has released their debut album, Scintilla, based around early Italian string quartets. While researching first editions and manuscripts, they found many 18th-century quartets that have never been recorded, but which are incredibly dynamic, powerful, and joyful.
The concert at St James' was titled Well Met By Moonlight, and included
| Mendelssohn | Overture from A Midsummer Night's Dream | |
| Schubert | String Quartet in G major, D. 887 | |
| Haydn | String Quartet Op. 50 No. 5, "The Dream" | |
| Mendelssohn | Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream | |
| Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 13 |
By moonlight’s haze, colourful characters come alive, mistaken identities abound and scampering fairy feet are encapsulated within this evocatively poignant collection of instrumental works.