A Christmas Evening with the Liverpool String Quartet
Norton Priory, Runcorn, Cheshire
11th December 2025
The weather outside is not so frightful, being unseasonably mild and hovering around ten to fifteen centigrade. Last night, I was back at Norton Priory, which has become something of a regular haunt since moving to the area a couple of years ago. I was there to see A Christmas Evening with the Liverpool String Quartet. Now, I do love a string quartet. Except at a wedding, where they typically look as plastic as the respective bride and groom. But I have seen the LSQ two times already at Norton Priory, and each time I have been so impressed with the programmes. Hence the return visits. The previous two times have been under the backdrop of Luke Jerram's gigantic planets, namely Gaia (Earth) and Mars. I also saw the Liverpool Brass Quintet in front of Mars, and all of these evenings have been well worth the money.
The first thing to mention is that the foyer at Norton Priory offers perfect acoustics for the LSQ. Honestly, the sound could not be better. My only gripe with NP is that, last year, Norton brewing was discontinued. It was a council-run project, offering a work environment for people with learning and social difficulties. Their Christmas Ale, funnily enough, was one of my favourites of anything I could get anywhere - something that kept me coming back. I don't know the full story of its fate, but I suspect some dickhead on the local council decided it wasn't raking in enough revenue.
Anyway, I digress...
I arrive with about ten minutes to spare, and take a seat at the back as I am one of the last to arrive. As is so common with the events I attend, it's a sea of salt-and-pepper follicles (where applicable) in front of me. Rather than a massive planet, this time there is a festive theme, with red and green lighting reflecting off NP's medieval undercroft. And a fine Christmas tree to our left.
The lead violinist tells us that they have a 'smorgasbord' of musical numbers for us to enjoy tonight. Smorgasbord is a really good word - and she's not wrong. I'm really taken with the repertoire that follows:
We kick off with excerpts from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and I have to say it really gets the juices flowing. Lovely stuff. Have I seen The Nutcracker before, I asked myself? [Checking my archives now, I can confirm that I did indeed see The Nutcracker at the Liverpool Empire on Wednesday 25th January 2023. A performance by the Varna International Ballet.]
Next is an older Christmas concerto; namely Corelli's Christmas Concerto, and this brings the mood down - in a good way, like a sedative. I'm not at all familiar with this, so it's nice to have something new to add to my Xmas playlist.
Then there's a few pieces from the Danish string quartet. Very energetic. One of the numbers had a distinct Irish feel to it, despite it being a Scandinavian piece. However, it's not the first time I've heard something suspiciously Celtic within a Nordic ensemble. There's a tune by the Norwegian band, Sver, that I really like. It is called E14, and I can't help but think of Ireland when I'm listening. I wonder if Celtic/Nordic roots musics have commonalities? Worth looking that up.
The first half finished with a haunting rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman. And actually, 'haunting' usually gets me into more of a Christmas mood than your holly-jolly type of stuff. (Carol of the Bells being another fine example).
During the interval I treat myself to a glass of Shiraz. £4.74, but hey, it's Christmas!
Part two begins with more Tchaikovsky. It's his Winter Evening, but I must confess I didn't recognise it as Tchaikovsky until told. Then it's Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik ('A Little Night Music - I'm sure I was introduced to this during The Proms this year? Don't remember it sounding so festive!).
Next up it's selections from The Snowman by Howard Blake. Apparently the LSQ have had some interactions with him, and that these tunes have been arranged specially for string quartet. Perfection it was!
To finish, we go full-on Christmas with a hearty variety of the well-known popular hits. At the end we are invited to join in some audience participation (anxiety on standby), but luckily it's nothing more exposing than jingling our keys along to the music - good idea! What the hay, I join in and it felt good.
What a cracker running order, which I think speaks for itself. I had a jolly good time!
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