Navarra Quartet

Magnus Johnston violin 1 Marije Ploemacher violin 2

Simone van der Giessen viola Brian O'Kane cello

Since its formation in 2002, the Navarra Quartet has built an international reputation as one of the most dynamic and poetic string quartets of today. Selected for representation by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) from 2006 to 2010, they have been awarded the MIDEM Classique Young Artist Award, a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a Musica Viva tour and prizes at the Banff, Melbourne and Florence International String Quartet Competitions.

The Navarra Quartet has appeared at major venues throughout the world including the Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Luxembourg Philharmonie, Berlin Konzerthaus, and international festivals such as Bath, Grachten, Sandviken, Schwetzinger, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Huntingdon (Australia), Aix-en-Provence, Bellerive and the BBC Proms. Further afield they have given concerts in Russia, the USA and the Middle East and have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, RAI 3 (Italy), Radio 4 (Holland), SWR (Germany), Radio Luxembourg and ABC Classic FM (Australia). The Quartet has collaborated with artists such as Li-Wei, Guy Johnston, Mark Padmore, Allan Clayton, Francesco Piemontesi, John O'Conor, Jack Liebeck, Simone Young and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Highly acclaimed recordings include Haydn's The Seven Last Words for Altara Records and a disc of Peteris Vasks' first three String Quartets for Challenge Records, which they recorded whilst working closely with the composer himself. The recording was described by critics as 'stunning', 'sensational' and 'compelling', and was nominated for the prestigious German Schallplattenkritik Award. In 2013, the Navarra Quartet recorded a disc for NMC Records featuring the music of Joseph Phibbs.