Marmen Quartet joins Sulivan Sweetland management roster

The London-based Marmen Quartet has signed for general worldwide management with Sulivan Sweetland Artist Management, London. Formed in 2013 at the Royal College of Music in London, the group, comprising violinists Johannes Marmen and Ricky Gore, violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish and cellist Steffan Morris, recently won joint-first prize at the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and joint-grand prize at the 2019 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition.

In a statement, Sulivan Sweetland praised the ensemble’s ability to bring ‘a real zest for life to its music-making, which is fresh, compelling and full of vitality.  They are young musicians who are not afraid to take risks and are undoubtedly developing into an exciting and impressive young ensemble.’

The players currently study with Simon Rowland-Jones and John Myerscough (cellist with the Doric Quartet) at London’s Guildhall School of Music, where they are holders of the Guildhall School of Music String Quartet Fellowship. They are also completing a masters degree in chamber music with Oliver Wille at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover. 

Previous accolades include the 2018 Royal Over-Seas League Competition, which they won. They were placed second at the 8th International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition, and were also awarded the Special Prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work (Four Quarters by Thomas Adès). 

The group’s 2019/20 season will include debuts at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale and the Graffenegg Festival. The ensemble will also present their first Beethoven quartet cycle, with Musik I Syd (Music in the South). In June 2020 they will tour to Japan with performances in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.

In 2017 the Marmen Quartet took part in a Beethoven masterclass with the pianist Alfred Brendel at Kings Place, London. An article about the session appeared in the May 2018 issue of The Strad.