Kleio Quartet

Following their win at the 2023 Carl Nielsen Chamber Music Competition in Copenhagen, the Kleio Quartet have rapidly soared to establish themselves as one of the most exciting young chamber groups globally.

They make their International Festival debut with a typically eclectic and innovative concert. Benjamin Britten wrote his 1933 Divertimenti as a student and based them on affectionate musical portraits of school friends. Their bright, sunny evocations offer an early glimpse into the composer’s musical imagination.

After Joseph Haydn’s vibrant and equally sunny D major Quartet, Op 20 No 4, the Kleio players close their recital with US jazz icon Wynton Marsalis’s vibrant celebration of New Orleans. Across its seven joyful movements, At the Octoroon Balls paints vivid musical pictures of the birthplace of jazz – and celebrates the mix of styles in the legendary dances that give the piece its title.

Presented by Edinburgh International Festival