A BBCM group of twenty-two, that is twelve children and ten adults, attended this excellent concert promoted by the Cavatina Trust. Eleven of the children (most of them supported by their parents) and one parent agreed to give their impression in writing.

“I liked them because they played my tune, the Clown Dance.”
Miles Camilleri, age 4
Miles has already been studying music for more than half of his life, having joined Agnes Kory’s kindergarten class at the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship at 22 months old. He has been playing the violin since he was three. The Clown Dance was one of his first open string exercises, so he was very pleased to hear it performed. Congratulations and praise to the Sacconi Quartet for opening up our children’s ears, hearts and minds to the jewel that is chamber music.
Peter Camilleri, Miles’ father

The whole concert was great. I especially liked the piece by Kurtag, because it was fun to see and hear how they made the strings jump. I really liked the cello because it made big and deep sounds. The man who played the viola was really funny.
Nirav Tomasi, age 5

The concert was in the library. One of the instruments had a long pointy bit that was standing on the floor. It is called the cello. I liked the sound of this. When the music was very fast the sound of this sounded a bit scary. We could go out to stand behind the musicians to help them play. There was a boy who could tell the musicians how quietly or loudly to play. Once he raised his hand they were playing louder and once he put his hand down it went really quiet.
Abigail Aradi-Posylkin, age 5

I very much enjoyed the concert. My favourite was the cello. I would like to play it at week-ends.
Ella Lastmann, age 6

I thought the concert was interesting because they explained how they played the violin. The biggest violin made a low sound. Robin had the sad sound and my favourites were Ben and Robin. I liked the big violin which is called the cello. I liked how the people explained things clearly, it made the children play the instruments better. The sounds were all different. My brother got to play the violin because he was listening. And because their explained it clearly, he played it good. I thought the children conductors were good, because it is hard for little children. I was a little upset because I wanted to play the cello. I did put my hand up and I was right next to my brother and he got picked twice. I thought “can’t you see me?”. Chamber music is a little group of 3 or 4 people who play music in some rooms. Most of the instruments are made of wood, but some are made of bamboo, and they have holes where the sound comes out.
Alexander Leonce-Weekes, age 6

I liked the violins the best and especially when they played Kurtag which was well done. I liked the unusual melody. The players were really interesting and good at playing. It is interesting that they used horse hair from the tail for making the sound against the strings.
I want to try playing the violin some time.
Zane Matthew, age 6

When we went to the room we were in the front row which was great because we had a good view and could see the quartet very well. There were 4 people playing string instruments which were very shiny because they had varnish on them.
The musicians were playing 2 violins, a viola and a cello. The quartet looked very young because they had no wrinkles! The music made me feel energetic because it was very fast. Gyorgy Kurtag the composer is still alive. Ben was the kindest musician in the quartet because he wasn't strict and he made things easier for us to understand. Ben told us that they all breathed at the same time so that they could start playing the music together at exactly the same time. I answered two questions when the quartet asked the audience. The different instruments had high and low sounds. I really enjoyed the music and I hope I can go to another concert.
Jay Milligan, age 6

When I went to this concert I was not sure what chamber music was. I expected to see wind instruments - like recorder, flute and oboe - being played by a group of people. What I learnt was that chamber music is a group of up to four people playing music in a small room. I thought the people playing explained everything clearly and it was fun and interesting. My favourite piece played was Haydn because I found it calming. The other pieces played were good, but I didn't enjoy them as much. The children who got chosen to conduct were very effective, it was really good how they controlled the level of sound and speed. I liked the way the children were involved in the concert.
When I was picked to play the violin I was both surprised, happy and nervous at the same time because I have never played an instrument before, and never in public, but I really enjoyed the experience of playing an instrument for the very first time.
I enjoyed the concert very much and I will be going to some more of these concerts.
Joshua Leonce-Weekes, age 7

The concert was in the Swiss Cottage Library. We were sitting on the carpet in front of the musicians.
There were four instruments playing: two violins, a viola and a cello. Quartet means four people playing. I liked the sound of the viola most, it was not as soft as the violin and not as strong as the cello. The musicians explained the different parts of the violin and the different ways to make a sound on the string instruments.
I also liked the games and the time when people could go and try the instruments. I was sorry that I was not chosen to try out an instrument.
One of the tunes is still in my head but I don't remember the name of the composer, who wrote it.
Adam Aradi-Posylkin, age 7

On 2nd December we went to listen to the Sacconi String Quartet at Swiss Cottage Library!
It was great fun! Much more fun than I had imagined it would be. It was fun because I learnt a lot and the music they played was not boring, sad or slow. The musicians were able to let the composers ‘come alive’ even if they were no longer around; and they did this by telling us about their lives and the country they came from.
The musicians were Ben (1st Violin), Hannah (2nd Violin), Robin (Viola), Cara (Cello) and they each told us about their own instrument; with guidance from them we were able to touch and play the instruments.
Ben was my favourite because he was gentle and funny and very skilled in playing the violin. I even had my photo taken with Ben (his brother plays too but did not play this time).
This is what I learnt:
The Sacconi string quartet plays music for smaller venues. There are four musicians in a quartet and the string instruments are First and second Violin, Viola and Cello. The violin is played with a bow which is made from horse hair and there are different ways to play the violin (which Ben showed us). They do not have a conductor, so they all breathe together to signal each other when it is time to start playing.
Duro Adebayo, age 7

On Sunday 2nd December we went to the Swiss Cottage Library to hear the Sacconi string quartet. I went with my dad and Agnes and other children of the BBCM. We sat down near the front but Agnes sat on the carpet with some of the BBCM children.
Ben, Hannah, Robin and Cara were the string quartet. The violins were played by Ben and Hannah, the cello was played by Cara and the viola was played by Robin.
They played a lot of music but also explained what a string quartet was, what instruments they played and how they played them. They also explained how the instruments make the sounds. I learnt that the viola makes a lower sound than the violin but a higher sound than the cello. What I want to find out is why they call a instrument with strings a string instrument when the strings are really metal and not made out of string.
Their favourite pieces of music were by Haydn. They also played a modern piece by a man who is still alive. It was a bit squeaky. I think I'll stick to non-squeaky music. All the other composers were dead.
They all knew when to begin because they breathed before they started. Then they tried it with their eyes closed and it still worked.
They played a lot of games with the children. There was a game when somebody tried to be the conductor who made the music louder and quieter. Some children tried to play instruments but they were not as good as the quartet. Another game was when children had to put up a card when an instrument was playing the tune.
I liked the cello the best.
The concert lasted one hour with non-stop music, non-stop games and non-stop talking. I REALLY LIKED IT!
Hollie Gold, age 8