HAYDN - String Quartet in Bb Major Op.50 No.1
BARTÓK - String Quartet No.4 in C Major
SCHUBERT - Quartet No.15 in G Major D.887

A celebration of the next generation of chamber music stars, our second concert of the 26/27 season is an opportunity for young and early-career chamber musicians to perform at Manchester’s Stoller Hall. These concerts are dedicated to the memory of long-term MCCS member and concert attender Charlotte Norton, whose generosity has helped fund several similar concerts in previous seasons.

Manchester Chamber Concerts Society are delighted to welcome the Isla String Quartet to perform in this concert.

The Isla String Quartet formed at the Royal Academy of Music and gained international recognition when they won First Prize, the Audience Prize, and a Special Prize for the best interpretation of a Haydn Quartet at the 2nd International String Quartet Competition in Bad Tölz in April 2026. As such, they’ll be opening this concert with the composer’s lively and dazzling String Quartet in Bb Major.

In contrast, Bartók’s String Quartet No.4 is filled with tense and eerie moments exploring the full range of sounds that a string quartet can create. The piece varies from soft shimmering textures to furious discordant melodies - as well as a full movement of entirely pizzicato (or plucked) strings! Their concert will end with Schubert’s final String Quartet work, a haunting piece filled with flashes of high drama and emotion.