Field of Stars premiere announced with four string quartets

Field of Stars, for four string quartets, will premiere at East Neuk Festival on 29 June 2025 with the Belcea, Castalian, Elias and Pavel Haas Quartets.

A piece about pilgrimage, when Beamish’s husband’s son returned from an extraordinary and transformative feat – running the Camino de Santiago de Compostela - he brought them the emblem of the pilgrimage – a scallop shell. This same shell as the logo for the East Neuk Festival – referring to the pilgrimage made by many to St Andrews in Fife.

Compostela means ‘Field of Stars’ – the navigational tool used by pilgrims over the ages. The stars are represented in the piece by small bells performed by the cellists – B, C, E, and H, taking its note from the first letter of the name of each quartet performing the premiere. (H=B in German notation , and B=Bb).

Performed in concert with Beethoven’s late quartets, tickets are now on sale from the East Neuk website.

Further information about the work can be found here.