Brodsky Quartet, Robert Smissen, Richard May
Biography Brodsky Quartet, Robert Smissen, Richard May
Robert Smissen
Born in Mansfield Nottinghamshire, Robert Smissen (viola) won a scholarship to Chethams School of Music and went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music, from which he graduated with distinction.
After playing with the European Community Youth Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe he took the position of principal viola with the Northern Sinfonia before joining the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with whom he has been principal viola for over 25 years. He often performs as a soloist with the orchestra, and as a member of the ASMF chamber ensemble and the Pro Arte Piano Quartet, he has performed, broadcast and recorded all over the world. Recent recordings include the complete Brahms piano quartets and Dittersdorf duo concerto.
Robert is regularly invited to play with established ensembles, including the Brodsky and Allegri quartets, the Fleesensee Festival with Julia Fischer and friends, and the World Orchestra for Peace. He enjoys a varied diet of music making including teaching, coaching and education projects ranging from schools for special needs to further education.
Being a father of five and having a high maintenance wife limit his other interests, but they include walking his five dogs, gardening, DIY, early renaissance art, philosophy, cooking and cricket.
Richard May
is one of Britain’s most outstanding cellists. Since winning the BBC TV Young Musician of the Year Competition, String Section, he has developed an international career as soloist and chamber musician. He has performed most of the major cello concerti with orchestras such as the Basel Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. His concert schedule has taken him throughout the UK as well as to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Italy, South Africa, Japan and USA, with appearances at the Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barbican and festivals in Salzburg, Berlin and Aldeburgh. After his London debut recital at the Purcell Room, which included the world premiere of Five Duos for cello and piano by Colin Matthews, he was described by The Times as “a phenomenal cellist”. A recital in Basel of Bach Solo Suites gained critical acclaim for “absolute perfection and virtuosity”. He also gave a recital for the TV series and Chandos CD “Solo”, featuring British musicians. Richard studied with Florence Hooton at Royal Academy of Music and afterwards with William Pleeth, Paul Tortelier and Thomas Demenga. Past prizes include the National Federation of Music Societies Award and the EMI Jacqueline Du Pre Competition, where The Times wrote of the Shostakovich Sonata “simply one of the most gripping performances I have heard”. Recent performances include Haydn C major Concerto with the English Sinfonia in London and Vivaldi Double Concerto with Nigel Kennedy. Richard is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and also teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Brodsky Quartet
Since forming in 1972, the Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,000 concerts on the major stages of the world and have released more than 60 recordings. A natural curiosity and an insatiable desire to explore has propelled the group in a number of artistic directions and continues to ensure them not only a prominent presence on the international chamber music scene, but also a rich and varied musical existence. Their energy and craftsmanship have attracted numerous awards and accolades worldwide, while their ongoing educational work provides a vehicle to pass on experience and stay in touch with the next generation.
Throughout their career of almost 50 years, the Brodsky Quartet have enjoyed a busy international performing schedule, and have extensively toured the major festivals and venues throughout Australasia, North and South America, Asia, South Africa and Europe, as well as in the UK, where the quartet is based. The quartet are also regularly recorded for television and radio with their performances broadcast worldwide.
Over the years, the Brodsky Quartet have undertaken numerous performances of the complete cycles of quartets by Schubert, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Schoenberg, Zemlinsky, Webern and Bartok. It is, however, the complete Shostakovich cycle that has now become synonymous with their name: their 2012 London performance of the cycle resulted in their taking the prestigious title ‘Artistic Associate’ at London’s Kings Place and, in October 2016, releasing their second recording of the cycle, this time live from the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam.
The Brodsky Quartet have always had a busy recording career and currently enjoy an exclusive and fruitful relationship with Chandos Records. Releases on the label include ‘Petits Fours’, a celebratory album of ‘Encore’ pieces arranged exclusively by the quartet for their 40th anniversary; a Debussy compilation; ‘In the South’, featuring works by Verdi, Paganini, Wolf and Puccini; ‘New World Quartets’, comprising works by Dvorak, Copland, Gershwin and Brubeck; the quartets of Zemlinsky, including the world premiere recording of his unpublished early quartet; two Brahms discs, featuring the iconic Piano and Clarinet Quintets; the Shostakovich Complete Quartets. For Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year they have released a highly acclaimed box set of the late quartets.
As well as partnering many top classical artists for their performances and recordings, the quartet have made musical history with ground-breaking collaborations with some of the world’s leading artists across many genres and have commissioned and championed many of the world’s most respected composers.
Awards for recordings include the Diapason D'Or and the CHOC du Monde de la Musique and the Brodsky Quartet have received a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for their outstanding contribution to innovation in programming.
The quartet have taught at many international chamber music courses and have held residencies in several music institutes including, at the start of their career, the first such post at the University of Cambridge and latterly at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where they are visiting International Fellows in Chamber Music. They were awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Kent and an Honorary Fellowship at the University of Teesside, where they were founded.
The quartet took their name from the great Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, the dedicatee of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto and a passionate chamber musician.
Krysia Osostowicz plays a violin made by Francesco Gofriller, 1720; Ian Belton’s violin is by Giovanni Paolo Maggini, c.1615. Paul Cassidy plays on La Delfina viola, c.1720, courtesy of Sra. Delfina Entrecanales and Jacqueline Thomas’s cello is by Thomas Perry of Dublin, 1785.
