Waterhouse composed Alchymic Quartet in the autumn of 2022,[1]: 7  inspired by his Highgate School chemistry teacher Andrew Szydlo.

[4] Alchymic Quartet was first performed at the Gilching town hall on 4 November 2022 in a concert named Transformationen.

[3] It was played by the Philharmonisches Streichquartett München,[4][5] formed by musicians from the Münchner Philharmoniker, Clément Courtin, Bernhard Metz, Konstantin Sellheim and Manuel von der Nahmer.

[3] The quartet was played again the following day by the same performers as part of GW60, a concert at the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche in Munich to celebrate the composer's 60th birthday.

[1]: 5 [4][6] Szydlo addressed the audience in a laudatio[1]: 4 [6] in German, with details from his early contacts with Waterhouse, making music together with the teacher as the violinist.