Radio 3 - New Generation Artists

Meta4 (2008-2010)

Meta4.

Biography

Antti Tikkanen, violin
Minna Pensola, violin
Atte Kilpeläinen, viola
Tomas Djupsjöbacka, cello

Meta4 was outstanding. Its performance of Sibelius's only mature string quartet, written aged 43 and one of the greatest string quartets ever written, was breathtaking and authoritative - monumental. Classical source, September 2007

In this wonderful performance the music's epic scale emerged with unforced strength and grandeur.
Daily Telegraph, September 2007

The young Finnish string quartet Meta4 is rapidly establishing itself as one of the rising stars of the international chamber music scene.

Formed in 2001, Meta 4 studied with Hatto Beyerle and Johannes Meissl in the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA). In 2004, they won First Prize at the International Shostakovich Quartet Competition in Moscow, and were also awarded a special prize for the best interpretation of a Shostakovich string quartet. Since then, the quartet has enjoyed continued success and, in April 2007, won First Prize at the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna. The Finnish Minister of Culture presented Meta4 with the "Finland Prize" as an encouragement for promising Finnish artists. They have been selected as a BBC New Generation Artist for two years starting in September 2008, and have already received invitations to perform at the City of London Music Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, Manchester Mid-day Concerts Society as well as at the BBC PROMS.

Meta4's busy schedule includes performances in Vienna (Mozart Saal), Milano (Sala Verdi), London (Wigmore Hall), Dortmund (Konzerthaus), Stockholm (Konserthuset), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional), and New York (Carnegie Hall). The quartet has also appeared at Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, Kuhmo Chamber Music - where they are now the resident quartet - and Helsinki Festivals, and is the Artistic Director of the Oulunsalo Soi Music Festival. In 2009/2010, the quartet will be giving concerts in European halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and again the Wigmore Hall.

Their repertoire encompasses works from Haydn to the most avant-garde pieces, some of which are dedicated to them. They are also strongly involved in the interpretation of Scandinavian works such as by Sibelius, Grieg and contemporary composers including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sallinen, Saariaho, Rasmussen, Puumala, Melartin, Kokkonen, Kaipainen, Holmström and Heiniö.

All members of the quartet are very fortunate to play the following instruments: a Stradivarius violin from the 1690s on loan from the Sibelius Academy, a Bellosio violin (1770) on loan from the Local Cooperative Bank of Sysm�, a Guidantus viola (1737) on loan from the OKO and a Postiglione cello (1857) on loan from luthier Ilkka Wainio. Meta4 has also received a grant from The Finnish Cultural Foundation.