If the life and times of a string quartet was heralded and acclaimed in the same way a rock band’s is, then the name ‘The Purcell Quartet’ – (who will be celebrating 20 years in the business in February this year) – would be on the tip of all our tongues. But no they are not the Rolling Stones, and it is probably this lack of iconic status that distinguishes these classical musicians from their rock colleagues. This ‘no-idolisation-zone’ is particularly noticeable in the Purcell Quartet’s elegant but also self-effacing website, where none of the members are individually named. No, there’s not a Mick Jagger in sight.
Although not surprised by their longevity, the members of the Purcell Quartet never really anticipated they would still be recording and touring internationally 20 years after they first came together to play the music they love. When asked why they are still together, it seems they still enjoy the way they each play music, and clearly respect each others’ style. This is probably key to why they are able to stay together, says Purcell Quartet member Richard Boothby. Because similar to modern rock-bands, classical quartets are famously peakish. Some famous quartets renowned for being able to play so stylishly as an ensemble, seldom ever actually talked or travelled together. (Remember the Amadeus Quartet!)
Now at the pinnacle of their career, the Purcell Quartet are internationally acclaimed for the vigour and sensitivity of their live musical interpretation of an extensive and ambitious Baroque repertoire. They have also won great praise for their impressive recorded discography. (Their entire recordings which include the superb Tam Aris Quam Aulis by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber [Chandos catalog CHAN 0591] and Heinrich Schütz’s – Simphoniae Sacrae of 1647 CHAN 0566/7 can be found on the Purcell Quartet website).
However, the shape of the classical music world is now rapidly shifting and the Purcell Quartet is something of a modern microcosm. There is some irony in Boothby’s observation that the Purcell Quartet, which set out to help English music be heard in the UK, has enjoyed their greatest success overseas, particularly in Japan where the engaged and educated listening of the Japanese audience has left a profound impression on these musicians.
Classical music is virtually unsubsidised in Japan yet their costly tickets are oversubscribed. In contrast arts funding and subsidies for classical musicians in Britain is almost a prerequisite to make the music accessible. This striking dissimilarity comes from a number of factors according to Boothby. One being the historical cultural factors that make countries like France and Germany more in sync with the music played, and the new sophistication of Asian listeners, who have developed a passion for western music. And the bottom line is that these cultural factors are strong determinants of how much money is allocated or not allocated to sponsorship levels of the arts.
The dichotomy for the intrinsically British Purcell Quartet, named after British composer Henry Purcell, lies in the fact that they make their living in foreign countries, but are culturally representative of a nation who although receptive to them, does not have a cultural structure attuned to ensuring them careers at home. There is even a cultural difference of perception of their music and their playing in Great Britain to elsewhere. Boothby admits that the quartet’s programmes do need to be that bit more popular to garner audience attention in Great Britain, where the quartet have made their name from playing at major festivals and at a number of concerts at Wigmore Hall.
Flexibility for quartets like Purcell comes from foreign shores, and the opportunity to expand on or change their programme occurs in countries such as Japan, Chile, Bolivia, Columbia, Peru, Turkey and the USA. In fact their success in Japan is such that they have been able to expand beyond the quartet format and stage phenomenally successful performances of Monteverdi’s opera I’Incoronazione di Poppea as well as Dido and Aeneas with full cast and crew.
Of course, this scenario of leaving home to make it, is one of those grand clichés. All success stories are made away from home – that’s what makes the success so sweet perhaps.
But what about the audience? There are many curiosities about a classical music audience. For example www.RockCritics.com conducted a Classical Critics Survey and the consensus on finding a young classical audience was that it was more to do with the record industry than the rebellion of youth. One critic summed it up by stating: ‘The problem is that the classical music business tyranised by the record industry, has so calcified the concept of classical music that the music young people are interested in is a priori excluded.’
However, another American music critic when pondering on the quest to make classical music cool dismissed this notion of conglomerate alienation. Classical music is cool already he says, ‘particularly if an essential element of cool is honesty. There’s less strategising, positioning and spinning going on in classical music than in more commercial art forms.’
Yet Boothby notes that the quartet’s recorded repertoire is much more extensive than that offered in live performances at home, and recordings do make up a healthy sum of their earnings. They have recorded extensively for the BBC, Hyperion Records and made thirty-six records and cds.
Their composers of choice are of course Purcell, Corelli, Bach and Handel to name the most popular. When asked if they ever get tired of playing the same old repertoire associated with most quartets, Richard Boothby laughs and claims that in actual fact, the music is so beautiful they have never tired of it. Maybe this is what makes a real musician. Yet when asked if he would advise today’s young musicians to follow in his footsteps the answer is a decisive ‘no’. Then again when asked if he would do it all again the answer is a wry yes – ‘98% of it at least.’
Perhaps the future for the prospective classical musician reflects Boothby’s own duality. In 2003 England’s eight symphony orchestras received a whopping £10 million from the Arts Council. It was also reported at the time that chamber orchestras would also receive substantial support. More importantly though for future musicians, £1.3 million is set to be shelved into conservatoria such as Aldeburgh, Dartington in Devon and Sage in Gateshead to cement these as key music centres. On one hand it’s great to have the subsidy but can money solve the problem of waning live audiences?
For more information on the Purcell Quartet see www.purcellquartet.com
