Jacksons, Monk & Rowe and the Brodsky Quartet the formative years by Jacqueline Thomas

I have known the music of this string quartet over many years but I have recently had a resurgence of interest while playing some of their CDs involving collaborations with artists such as Elvis Costello.

  A search for any live performances showed that one at nearby Cockermouth had just taken place but remarkably there was one shortly to take place at Gatehouse of Fleet, an opportunity not to be missed.  Searches for live performances particularly of world renowned musicians usually come up with far flung venues so the chance to hear the Brodskys next week relatively nearby was too good to miss. 

This prompted me to delve a little further and I found Jacqueline Thomas's memoir.  This is a wonderful read and a tale of hugh dedication to ther quartet that she formed at the age of ten.  It comes across as touchingly honest and Jacqueline frequently writes of cringing at the youthful arrogance of her younger self.  Frequent setbacks at competitions did little to blunt the enthusiasm of the young players who all lived within easy walking distance of each other in Linthorpe.  It describes some of the music at a level of detail that could have been opaque to those not deeply steeped if string playing and music of this genre but it never is.

An added ingredient of interest for me is that the Thomas family lived in the Linthorpe suburb of Middlesbrough very close to my childhood home and I remember her older siblings.  She attended the same primary school as I did and mentions three teachers there who taught me.

Living the rarified life of a classical string player at so young an age in the often rough environment of Middlesbrough gave Jacqueline challenges beyong those that I also faced but to much lesser a degree.  It was however a different place half a century ago when the industries of Dorman Long and two important ICI chemical works provided mass employment and an influx of scientists and high level managers to raise the intellectual stakes of the region.

This is a wonderful and heartwarming read and I can't wait to hear them play next week !