The Mercury Quartet

The Mercury Quartet is a British improvisational new music ensemble, founded in 2007 and based in London. There are four members in the group: Vlad Maistorovici (violin/viola), Corentin Chassard (cello), Harry Cameron-Penny (clarinet), and Antoine Françoise (piano/saxophones). They met at the Royal College of Music, London and decided to form a chamber group after discovering a shared passion for Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. In 2008, Mercury Quartet won a major "Battle of the Bands" competition organized by Nonclassical to discover new talent. The label released their debut album 6678710 two years later (distributed worldwide by Naxos). Appearing on stage either as a four-piece or with various guest artists, the Quartet has been performing contemporary classics, new commissions, unknown masterpieces and live improvisations. Some of the notable concerts include Elliott Carter's Triple Duo and Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire (with Julian Jacobson and Linda Hirst). Musicians visited King's College, London to collaborate with George Benjamin's doctorate students in 2009. The Mercury Quartet was a resident artist at the Dartington International Summer School (2010), giving workshops and performing at the advanced composition class by Julian Anderson (2).