Third Stream: Atom String Quartet

An improvisatory string quartet opens up the hidden region between classical and jazz, riffing off music from around the world.

Atom String Quartet is both an astonishing classical ensemble and a renowned Polish jazz band. Made up of two violins, viola and cello, the group creates an almost indefinable sound.

They add Polish folk, contemporary and classical to the brew, with refreshingly intriguing results.

Classical music has always provided the best jazz players with a technical and theoretical basis. Many musicians on the current jazz scene, including Shabaka Hutchings, Sarah Tandy and Cassie Kinochi, emerged from a classical background.

Conversely, classical composers down the ages, for example, Ravel, Ligeti, Stravinsky and Mark-Antony Turnage, have drawn significant inspiration from jazz and popular music.

The rich history of jazz and classical feeding into each other to forge a new path was first formalised by the music critic Gunther Schuller under the term ‘third stream’.

In a series of three performances, Southbank Centre and Tomorrow’s Warriors explore this beguiling world.

In partnership with Tomorrow’s Warriors.