Details
Stone Nest - Chinatown
136 Shaftesbury Avenue
Chinatown, Soho
London
W1D 5EZ
England
Tickets
Prices: £22.50/£17.50
Book Tickets
Programme
Nicholas de Carlo – Gagarin Quartets (String Quartet)
Performers
Programme Note
Gagarin Quartets is a 108 minute journey through captivating films, immersive soundscapes, and evocative contemporary classical string quartet music performed by the acclaimed Modulus Quartet.
“Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is… Let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!” Yuri Gagarin
Across twelve contemporary classical works, composer Nicholas de Carlo traces the historic voyage of the first human to orbit the Earth, moment by moment. From the thrill of mission launch to the first experience of zero gravity and into a rapid sunset - then lost behind the dark side of the Earth, emerging into a starry new dawn, spinning out of control above Africa and finally returning home as a global hero.
Gagarin Quartets fuses shimmering, melodic motifs with a dramatic minimalist string quartet score. Presented in the historic and atmospheric setting of Stone Nest, the performance creates an immersive 108 minute experience - the same duration as Yuri Gagarin’s first orbit of Earth in 1961.
Modulus Quartet explores new ways of presenting contemporary music, performing in unusual venues and incorporating visual arts and multimedia technology. They work closely with contemporary classical composers to create original 21st century classical experiences.
Nicholas de Carlo’s music explores symbolic interpretations of story and subject matter. Previous projects include Tempelhof Airport, Berlin Stations, Women of Troy, Othello, Road To Worlds and Gagarin, and earlier albums include Gagarin - Son of The Earth and Gagarin - Returns. Human Body Mirrors is coming soon.
"Spiritually soaring...the performance stunned the audience with rich tonalities and cascading ripples, into a well deserved standing ovation.” Marc Bandola
“The music invites you to dream… I wish this had been the score for Tron Legacy.” Nico Steckelberg
“The playing by the Modulus Quartet is excellent...a multimedia journey into space...minimalist music...in the vein of Michael Nyman or Max Richter...
but more harmonically adventurous.” 4 Stars - The Arts Desk
“Wonderful & unlike anything else I’ve experienced... An utterly captivating performance.” 5 stars - Ramsgate Festival of Sound
“A treat for both the eyes and the ears…events not to be missed.” Musician Magazine
