Solem Quartet & Alice Zawadzki
Reich/Zawadzki/Bush
Memory Unwrapped
| Steve Reich | Different Trains |
|---|---|
| Alice Zawadzki | selected songs |
| Kate Bush arr. Will Newell | selected songs |
| Alice Zawadzki | Voice/Violin |
|---|---|
| Amy Tress | Violin |
| Will Newell | Violin |
| Stephen Upshaw | Viola |
| Stephanie Tress | Cello |
As part of Memory Unwrapped and our celebration of Steve Reich’s 90th birthday, the Solem Quartet perform Steve Reich’s iconic Different Trains, a deeply personal work; and Alice Zawadzki joins them for a set of her own songs which speak to her own story, in a style that is uniquely modern. Offering dialogue to Alice’s compositions, songs by the visionary Kate Bush complete the night in celebration.
Join the Solem Quartet and Alice Zawadzki for a concert of personal histories told through music, spanning time and genre.
Steve Reich’s ‘Different Trains’ is one of the great works of the twentieth-century quartet repertoire. Reflecting on his journeys across America as a child in the 1930s and 1940s, Reich soon thought of his Jewish counterparts in Europe who would have ridden ‘very different trains’. Creating an aural cornucopia of recorded testimony, train sounds and string quartet, this compelling work creates a huge emotional impact.
With themes of modern and invented folklore, impish night-time grooves, hallucinatory tales of feline ghosts, first love, obsession and the sublime, Alice Zawadzki’s music has been described as ‘tender in spirit and defiantly anti-genre, hooking her all-embracing vision to a questing musical curiosity and the freedom inherent in jazz’ (Jazzwise). The award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer joins the Solem Quartet for a set of her songs in new arrangements for voice and string quartet. Kate Bush’s extraordinary output spans themes of love, growth and parenthood; selected songs are heard here in arrangements by Will Newell, which add an expansive soundworld to Bush’s visionary songwriting.
This event will last approximately 90 minutes, including an interval.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
About The Solem Quartet
Praised for their “immaculate precision and spirit” (The Strad) and “cultured tone” (Arts Desk), the Solem Quartet has established itself as one of the most innovative and adventurous quartets of its generation.
The Solem Quartet’s busy concert schedule ranges from international tours to regular performances at major UK venues and festivals. Their wide-ranging work has taken them from recording for the BAFTA-nominated film Blue Jean (2022), to performing at the Royal Festival Hall with Sleeping At Last, and playing Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam alongside regular collaborator Ayanna Witter-Johnson. Passionate about working with living composers, they recently gave the premiere of Laurence Osborn’s ‘Lakes, Mists, Bats, Daggers, Fountains’ at Wigmore Hall.
The Solem Quartet have released two albums to critical acclaim; The Strad praised the Quartet’s ‘moving suppleness and intensity’ on ‘The Four Quarters’ (Orchid, 2021), and ‘Painted Light’ (Delphian Records, 2023) received five stars from BBC Music Magazine.
About Alice Zawadzki
‘Loosely connected to the world of jazz, but realistically inhabiting her own realm’ (Clash Magazine), Alice Zawadzki’s creative output is an intricate tapestry of influences and exploration.
The award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer released her highly-lauded latest album Za Górami, with ECM Records (2024), produced by Manfred Eicher. Made with two of her long-term collaborators, Fred Thomas and Misha Mullov-Abbado, Za Górami was described by Jazzwise Magazine as “an exquisite recording that penetrates a little deeper with every listen”.
Noted for her artistic openness, emotional directness and striking ability to transcend genre, London-based Alice has enjoyed an international career performing in a vast variety of her own groups, and different ensembles and orchestras. She has received rare recognition from both the jazz and classical worlds, winning the award for Vocalist of the Year from Jazz FM in 2025, and as a finalist for Singer of the Year from the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2024.