Opus13
Sonoko Miriam Welde - violin
Edvard Erdal - violin
Albin Uusijärvi - viola
Daniel Thorell - cello
Felix Mendelssohn Quartet No 2, Op 13
Kryštof Mařatka AMEDEA visage de jeune fille
Leoš Janáček Quartet No 2 (Intimate Letters)
Felix Mendelssohn’s Quartet No 2, Op 13 was written when he was just eighteen. A simple musical idea returns throughout the piece, helping to bind together moments of drama and tenderness, including a playful, fairy‑like scherzo.
Inspired by a painting by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, AMEDEA visage de jeune fille is by Czech composer Kryštof Mařatka, born in Prague in 1972. Short and intense, the work explores intimacy and expression through the four instruments of the quartet. Colours and textures shift constantly, creating music that feels close, searching, and full of feeling.
The programme closes with Intimate Letters by Leoš Janáček, one of the great Czech composers of the 20th century. Raw and deeply emotional, the music reflects the composer’s passionate feelings with striking honesty. Its restless energy and vibrant contrasts provide an unforgettable conclusion to Opus13’s first year as Quartet in Residence.
We’re thrilled to welcome Opus13 as our new Quartet in Residence. Thanks to our continuing partnership with Wigmore Hall, every three years we bring a world-class string quartet to Leeds for nine exciting performances.
First Prize winners at both the Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition and the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in spring 2025, Opus13 is rapidly building a reputation on the international chamber music scene. Named after Felix Mendelssohn’s youthful and passionate A Minor Quartet, Op 13 – the first piece the ensemble ever played together – the quartet was formed in Oslo in 2014. Now based in both Oslo and Stockholm, Opus13 comprises Norwegian violinists Sonoko Miriam Welde and Edvard Erdal, plus violist Albin Uusijärvi and cellist Daniel Thorell, both from Sweden.
In addition to performing standard string quartet repertoire by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bela Bartók, and Franz Schubert, Opus13 is a passionate ambassador of Nordic classical and contemporary music, frequently performing works by Edvard Grieg, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Andrea Tarrodi, Britta Byström, and Sebastian Fagerlund.
