About

This website is intended to encourage string players of all abilities to enjoy playing string quartets. My name is Jim Hutton – I am an amateur cellist who lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire. I play in Stroud Symphony Orchestra, and several string quartets.

It is not always easy to find players of similar ability, who are free at the same days and times, and not too far away. So there is a questionnaire in the website – if you fill it in you will be added to a database of players looking for other people who wish to play string quartets.

There are already websites serving this purpose but most are aimed at a vast range of different musicians, folk, pop, rock and a few classical instrumentalists. Numbers in a given area are very small, and they generally do not give enough information to enable you to set up a session. Playstringquartets will show you string players in your area who want to play quartets, with details of their playing standard and the days and times they are available. Then it will be up to you to contact them if you wish.

As well as the database, I hope the website will become a useful resource, not just of players, but of information about all aspects of amateur string quartet playing. For example I have created a suggestion list of recommended quartet music for various abilities and tastes, based on help and advice from many friends.

There are good sources of sheet music for string quartets available freely on the internet, and I will try to list some of them. Various books and guides to quartet music for amateurs are published – I will provide some links to enable you to find them

This is very much ‘work in progress.’ So please have a look and feel free to make any suggestions or offer advice to improve it.

Thanks