THE VIBRANT and innovative Treske String Quartet will be performing at the Courtenay Centre in Newton Abbot on November 17 at part of the NADSA concert season.

The quartet like to programme concerts with traditional repertoire whilst at the same time pushing musical boundaries. Since completing the Royal Northern College of Music String Quartet Studio in 2023, the quartet have been prizewinners at the Cavatina Competition at London’s Wigmore Hall.

The Treske String Quartet’s mission is to showcase works from both the 20th and 21st centuries, and they have also commissioned works by young composers.

Their concert will feature a masterfully arranged programme juxtaposing the old and the new: a reimagined Purcell Chacony from the late 17th century, the extraordinary Beethoven ‘Harp’ quartet, Britten’s Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op 36 and An Index of Peculiar Strokes by Andrew Norman.

The Treske Quartet will open their concert of contrasts with Beethoven’s Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74 'Harp'. Written in 1809, his middle period, it was among a number of major works he composed that year.

This is followed by Andrew Norman’s An Index of Peculiar Strokes. This fascinating and intriguing short work of twelve movements was commissioned in 2011 by the Jasper Quartet and premiered by them in New York that same year.

Each movement explores a different way that the bow moves on, and interacts with, the strings. These small changes open up a whole world of unique sounds, and each of the movements of this piece explores one of those worlds using a different, slightly peculiar, off-the-beaten-path bow stroke.

After the interval, the Treske take the listener back to Purcell of 1680, but it’s through Britten’s eyes: his reimagined Purcell Chacony in G minor.

Britten was a fervent admirer of Purcell's music and he began this arrangement for string quartet or string orchestra in late 1947, conducting the first performance in 1948. The original piece, composed for a quartet of viols, was written for the theatre. It’s a timeless and sublimely expressive piece, and Britten’s beautiful arrangement ends in serenity and calm.

The concert will end with Britten's Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op 36. It's a work that combines profound depth with intricate textures. It was specifically written to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Purcell’s death and first performed on the precise date of the anniversary (21 November 1945) at Wigmore Hall.

The Treske Quartet’s performance, is sponsored by Austins Department Store, takes place at the Courtenay Centre, Newton Abbot, on Sunday 17th November 17 at 3:30pm.

Tickets must be bought in advance online at the website www.nadsa.co.uk