Red Priest, the quartet at the forefront of baroque music, perform at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds on April 22

The inimitable quartet Red Priest – described in the New York Times as ‘the wildly virtuosic little band’ – will perform 17th and 18th century masterworks at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds on April 22.

The brainchild of recorder virtuoso Piers Adams and violinist Julia Bishop, and named after the original ‘red priest’ Antonio Vivaldi, the quartet has been at the forefront of baroque music performance for more than a quarter of a century. During that time, it has developed a truly unique style, combining high-energy performance, boundary crossing arrangements and theatrical presentation.

Red Priest’s discography includes an iconic take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, hailed by Gramophone Magazine as one of the all-time best recordings of the work, and The Baroque Bohemians, which surprised the major labels by reaching No.1 in the UK classical charts.

Piers Adams has been heralded in the Washington Post as ‘the reigning recorder virtuoso in the world today’, while Julia Bishop is recognised as one of the most colourful exponents of the Baroque violin. Angela East is widely respected in the period instrument world, praised in The Times for the ‘elemental power’ of her cello playing.

One of the UK’s busiest working harpsichordists, David Wright has performed and recorded with some of the world’s leading musicians, including Tasmin Little and Julian Lloyd Webber.

See www.theapex.co.uk or call 01284 758000

The programme features Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor ‘La Notte’, Telemann’s ‘Gypsy’ Sonata in A minor, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Handel’s The Harmonious Blacksmith Air and Variations.