The Leipzig String Quartet (in german: Leipziger Streichquartett) is a German
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
established in 1988. The ensemble was also part of the 'Ensemble Avangarde' with the pianist
Steffen Schleiermacher
Steffen Schleiermacher (born Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle, 3 May 1960) is a German composer, pianist, and conducting, conductor. as the "New Leipzig String Quartet". It kept this name until 1995. Three of the members were at the time at the first desks in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra until 1993, when they finally decided to devote themselves exclusively to chamber music.
They studied with Gerhard Bosse in Leipzig, former member and concertmaster of the Gewandhaus Quartet (1955–1977), with the Amadeus Quartet in London and Cologne, with violist Hatto Beyerle in Hanover and with
Walter Levin
Walter Levin (December 6, 1924 – August 4, 2017) was the founder, first violinist, and guiding spirit of the LaSalle Quartet (active 1947–1987), which was known for its championing of contemporary composers, for its recordings of the Second V ...
, founding member and concertmaster of the
LaSalle Quartet
The LaSalle Quartet was a string quartet active from 1946 to 1987. It was founded by first violinist Walter Levin. The LaSalle's name is attributed to an apartment on LaSalle Street in Manhattan, where some of its members lived during the quarte ...
.
Since November 1991, the quartet has been developing its own concert series, "Pro Quatuor" in Leipzig. As part of the 'Ensemble Avangarde', the quartet is the co-founder of the 'musica nova' ensemble of the Leipzig Gewandhaus.
In 1996, the Leipzig Quartet launched the 'Beethoven String Quartet Cycle as a sign of European friendship', which has brought together more than fifteen cities in Europe. The nine discs of the first complete recording of all Franz Schubert's string quartets is completed in 1997. In 2002, the ensemble is in
residence
A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside.
Residence may more specifically refer to:
* Domicile (law), a legal term for residence
* Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...
at the Madrid
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...
.
The Leipzig Quartet performed at the Gewandhaus from 1993 to 2000, in the cycle all the great quartets of Viennese Classicism and the Second Viennese School. In 1996 the members of the ensemble performed the German premiere of "À trois" for string trio and orchestra by Alfred Schnittke.
An intense concert activity takes them throughout Europe, North and South America, Australia, Japan, Israel, Africa and Asia. To date, the ensemble has visited more than 60 countries. Its sixty or so recordings, mainly on the German label
Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm MD&G or Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm (founded 1978) is a German classical record label based in Detmold run by recording engineers and producers Werner Dabringhaus and Reimund Grimm. MDG is notable for its premiere recordings of works by Ge ...
, have won several awards.
Repertoire
The Quartet plays, alongside the classical repertoire, works from the classical, modern and contemporary repertoire.
The ensemble has performed premieres including works by
Beat Furrer
Beat Furrer (born 6 December 1954) is a Swiss-born Austrian composer and conductor. He has served as professor of composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz since 1991. He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2018 ...
,
Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf
Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf (born 22 October 1962) is a German composer, editor and author.
Career
Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf was born in Mannheim, Germany, and studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough, Klaus Huber and Emanuel Nunes and music theory ...
,
Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Sa ...
, Steffen Schleiermacher, Christian Fumiste,
Siegfried Thiele
Siegfried Thiele (born 28 March 1934) is a German composer. From 1990 to 1997 he was rector of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.
Life
Born in Chemnitz Thiele was born the son of a craftsman. Already at the age of twelve he created h ...
('String Quartet in One Movement', 1997),
Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann (1 January 1898, in Český Těšín, Teschen – 18 October 1944, in KZ Auschwitz-Birkenau) was a Silesia-born Austrians, Austrian composer, conductor and pianist.
Biography
Viktor Ullmann was born on 1 January 1898 in Český ...
,
Jörg Widmann
Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...
,
David Philip Hefti
David Philip Hefti (born 1975) is a Swiss composer and conductor.
Career
Born in St. Gallen, Hefti studied composition, conducting, clarinet and chamber music with Wolfgang Rihm, Cristóbal Halffter, Wolfgang Meyer, Rudolf Kelterborn and Elmar ...
,
Rainer Riehn Rainer Riehn (12 November 1941 – 9 June 2015) was a German composer and conductor, and a co-editor of music theory magazines.
Riehn was born in Danzig, Germany (modern Gdańsk, Poland) studied music theory in Mainz, Zürich, and Berlin and comp ...
,
Ulrich Leyendecker
Ulrich Leyendecker (29 January 1946 — 29 November 2018) was a German composer of classical music. His output consisted mainly of symphonies, concertos, chamber and instrumental music.
Life
Leyendecker studied composition with Ingo Schmitt (196 ...
and
Bernd Franke
Bernd Franke (born 12 February 1948) is a German former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Also an outfield player in his youth, young Bernd Franke made his steps towards the professional game following his impressiveness in the ranks of Sa ...
.
Musical partners of the ensemble include clarinetist
Karl Leister
Karl Leister (born 15 June 1937) is a classical clarinet player from Wilhelmshaven, Germany. At a very young age, he learned to play the clarinet from his father, also a clarinetist, and later studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. As ...
, cellist
Michael Sanderling
Michael Sanderling (born 21 February 1967) is a German conductor and violoncellist.
Biography
Born in East Berlin, Michael Sanderling is the son of the contrabassist Barbara Wagner and the conductor Kurt Sanderling. He received his first cel ...
, violist Hartmut Rohde, pianists
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...
,
Christian Zacharias
Christian Zacharias (born 27 April 1950 in Jamshedpur) is a German pianist and conductor.
Music career
Zacharias studied piano with Irene Slavin and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won second prize at both the Geneva Competition in 1969 and the Va ...
and
Andreas Staier
Andreas Staier (born 13 September 1955 in Göttingen) is a German pianist and harpsichordist.
Life
Staier studied piano and harpsichord in the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover and Amsterdam. He studied piano with Kurt Bauer and Erika Haase, an ...
, soprano
Christiane Oelze
Christiane Oelze (born 9 October 1963 in Cologne) is a German operatic soprano. From 2003 to 2008, she taught singing at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. Since 2010 she taught at the Masterclass of Apeldoorn (Netherlands), since 2011 a ...
, baritone
Olaf Bär
Olaf Bär (born 19 December 1957) is a German operatic baritone.
Life
Bär received his musical training in his home city of Dresden, studying at the city's Hochschule für Musik. His career has concentrated on lieder and on the lyric baritone ...
and clarinetist Klemzer
Giora Feidman
Giora Feidman ( he, גיורא פיידמן; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music.
Biography
Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigra ...
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
violoncello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...
ARD International Music Competition
The ARD International Music Competition (german: link=no, Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD) is the largest international classical music competition in Germany. It is organised by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and held once a year in Munich.
Si ...
of Munich (2nd prize), in 1991.
* Prix de la promotion de la musique de la société Siemens, in 1992.
* Prix Schneider-Schott de Mayence, in 1993 (for the series « musica nova »)
* ''
Diapason d'Or
The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...
''
* Cannes Classical Award (two nominations)
*
ECHO Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize
E ...
, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2008 et 2012
* Indie-Awards in 1999 and 2000