Founded in 2001, Meta4 is one of Finland’s most celebrated string quartets. Their Polarkr(e)is Drifting North program explores works from the sound worlds of the Arctic Circle, from the Inuit themes of American composer Amy Beach’s String Quartet, to works of their fellow Finns Kaija Saarhiaho and Jean Sibelius, paired with Italo-Indian composer Krishna Nagaraja’s Stringar, a piece that combines old and new through Nordic folk dance tunes.

In 2004, the ensemble won first prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of a Shostakovich work at the International Shostakovich String Quartets Competition in Moscow and, in 2007, first prize at the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna. The Finnish Ministry of Culture awarded the ensemble the Finland Prize in recognition of its international cultural influence and Meta4 was chosen for the “BBC New Generation Artist Scheme” (2008, 2010).