The Revolutionary Drawing Room, founded in 1990, has performed in Canada, Germany, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Ireland as well as across the UK and has recorded for CPO (Donizetti and Boccherini quartets), and the BBC (Mendelssohn Octet). The ensemble performed all of Beethoven’s String Quartets over four years at St. John’s, Smith Square, a cycle which was completed in 2020 despite all the difficult issues encountered in that year.
Recent appearances have included concerts in the Swaledale, Pinner and Suffolk Villages Festivals and the Wingham International Concert Series.
Recordings also include Mozart's Clarinet Quintet with Colin Lawson on the Clarinet Classics label and ‘A Viennese Quartet Party’ on Omnibus Classics, as well as a double-CD of flute quartets by Mozart and his contemporaries with Rachel Brown which was released in September 2016 on the Uppernote label.
The name 'Revolutionary Drawing Room' refers to the revolutionary years in Europe between 1789 and 1848. The 'drawing room' (the name deriving from the earlier 'withdrawing room') was where chamber music was performed in Georgian times, in the houses of musicians and their patrons. The dates are only a guide to give an idea of the period of music we cover but we often perform works written both before and after these dates.
The ensemble, founded in 1990, has performed in Canada, Germany, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Ireland as well as across the UK and has recorded for CPO (Donizetti and Boccherini quartets) and the BBC (Mendelssohn Octet). Recent appearances have included concerts in the Gregynog, Maldon and Petworth Festivals and the London BachFest and we are currently performing a complete cycle of Beethoven's Quartets over four years at St. John’s, Smith Square. In July 2017 we played in the Music and Beyond Festival in Ottawa, Canada, with three concerts featuring Beethoven's Op. 18 quartets, and a "Soirée" appearance at the National Gallery of Canada. Recordings include Mozart's Clarinet Quintet with Colin Lawson on the Clarinet Classics label and ‘A Viennese Quartet Party’ on Omnibus Classics, and our new double-CD of flute quartets by Mozart and his contemporaries with Rachel Brown was released in September 2016 on the Uppernote label.