David Angel’s Twelve Quartet Commandments

A few gems of wisdom from David Angel, co-founder and 2nd violinist of the Maggini Quartet, who died unexpectedly in April 2017. A wonderful and very funny man who’ll be much missed.

1. You are sharp, unless proved innocent
2. Play where your colleague is – not where he should be, had he counted as well as you
3. Check your rhythm with a metronome before the rehearsal rather than letting your colleagues check it for you in the rehearsal. Your metronome is a true friend!
4. Rehearsal is all about establishing guilt
5. Admit guilt straight away, as it is more painful having it extracted from you
6. Never be the first to stop when the quartet is sight reading, however wrong you are
7. Sleeping with a colleague’s wife can prejudice purely musical discussion
8. Knowing the score is POWER!
9. Be patient; it may take years, but your colleagues will catch up with your musical vision some day
10. Be confident in the next rehearsal as you alone saved the last concert!
11. A properly functioning string quartet is a compliment free zone. Should you nevertheless receive a compliment, rest assured it is always tactical
12. When a colleague says they are having a problem with a passage and can you play it with them, they invariably mean that the problem is you