ONE of Italy’s most acclaimed string quartets - the Cremona Quartet - who regularly play some of the world’s greatest concert halls, bring the beauty of their music to the Milton Rooms in Malton later this month.

Taking their name from the musically famous Italian city where they met as students, they have performed to critical acclaim at many of the world’s most important venues and festivals with numerous performances at London’s Wigmore Hall.

They are renowned for their profound interpretations of Beethoven and have now recorded the complete cycle of his quartets.

Their Milton Rooms programme includes Beethoven’s fresh and haunting string quartet No.15 Op.132, written long after he had become deaf, plus Tchaikovsky’s first quartet Op.11, which moved Leo Tolstoy to tears when he first heard it performed, and Puccini’s melancholic Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums).

“We have twice featured the Cremona by popular demand as part of the annual North York Moors Chamber Music Festival and it is a delight to play with and listen to their mature and lyrical sound,” said festival organiser Jamie Walton.

“Their passionate playing reflects their Italian roots and the home of opera.”

For the Milton Rooms this is a new venture into the world of classical music.

Programme organiser Libby Pearson said: “We have seen from the success of events such as the Moors Festival and Ryedale Festival that there is a local thirst for such music and we hope to provide a regular venue for local classical music audiences."

Tickets for the concert on Monday, October 26, at 7.30pm, are available from the box office or by phoning 01653 696240. Tickets are priced £12 and £9 for under 18s.