The Fauré Quartet is a German

piano quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

, named after

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

. Founded in 1995, they have performed internationally and recorded, including works written for them by composers such as

Volker David Kirchner Volker David Kirchner (25 June 1942 – 4 February 2020) was a German composer and violist. After studies of violin and composition at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik Köln and the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, he ...

and

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio '' Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima' ...

History

The

was founded in 1995Marlene Knierspel
"Musik-Festival Schönes Liebesleid im Quartett"
(in German) ''

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger The ''Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger'' (KStA) is a German daily newspaper published in Cologne, and has the largest circulation in the Cologne–Bonn Metropolitan Region. ''Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger'' has a base of over 100 contributing editors and a wide ...

'' 13 November 2008 at the

Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe The Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe () is a college of music in Karlsruhe, Germany. Originally the Baden Conservatory of Music, it was elevated to a Hochschule under the direction of Franz Philipp, who led the school from 1924 to 1942. Studies ...

and played its first concert there in January 1996. The players were at the beginning of their studies, which they continued at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

. The Fauré Quartet has remained unchanged, with Erika Geldsetzer (violin), Sascha Frömbling (viola), Konstantin Heidrich (cello) and Dirk Mommertz (piano). They recorded

s by Schumann, Dvořák, Fauré and Suk for the label "Ars Musici". Since 2005, they recorded quartets by Mozart, Brahms and Mendelssohn for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. In 2014,

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

released an album with piano quartets and songs by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, with soprano

Simone Kermes Simone Kermes (born 17 May 1965, in Leipzig) is a German coloratura soprano, especially known for her virtuoso voice, suited to the opera seria genre of the Baroque and early Classical period. Career Kermes has performed at many important th ...

. The Fauré Quartet is regarded a pioneer in the piano quartet genre. In 2004, the Karlsruhe Hochschule appointed the quartet as its "Ensemble in Residence". In this capacity, it has given concerts and taught master classes several times a year. In addition, it performs internationally in concert series and festivals. In 2008, the Fauré Quartet and the

Duisburg Philharmonic The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra (in German: Duisburger Philharmoniker) is a German orchestra based in Duisburg. The orchestra is resident at the ''Philharmonie Mercatorhalle Duisberg''. The ''Duisburger Philharmoniker'' is the accompanying o ...

played the German premiere of the ''Symphonie Concertante'' by

Alexandre Tansman Alexander Tansman (, French: Alexandre Tansman; 12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish composer, pianist and conductor who became a naturalized French citizen in 1938. One of the earliest representatives of neoclassicism, associated with ...

, a concerto for piano quartet and orchestra, composed in 1932.

composed four works for the Fauré Quartet: ''Echo und Narziss, Poème for piano quartet'' (2005), ''Psyche und Eros'' (2009), ''Der Große Tango'' (2012) and ''Klavierquartett IV'' (2015). In 2016,

wrote for them ''The Water of Lethe'', premiered in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. The members have teaching assignments in Berlin (

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

) and Munich (

University of Music and Performing Arts Munich The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, located at Arcisstr ...

), and teach

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

es in Germany, Italy, Norway and the United States. In addition, the musicians have been trying for years to bring classical music closer to young people and children through children's concerts and the "Rhapsody in school" initiative. In 2009, they expanded their repertoire with modern arrangements of selected songs from pop history. Deutsche Grammophon published this compilation under the title ''Popsongs''. For this album, the quartet worked closely with the German producer

Sven Helbig Sven Helbig (born in 1968) is a German composer, director and music producer known for his genre-crossing works that blend classical music with electronic and contemporary elements. His compositions have been performed by renowned ensembles and o ...

, who also arranged two songs for them. In 2013, they played the world premiere of his ''Pocket Symphonies'', twelve short works for piano quartet and orchestra, which was also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. In 2011, the Fauré Quartet performed on "". The quartet initiated an annual international chamber music festival, ''Festspielfrühling Rügen'', on the island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

, and directed it for the first years. In autumn 2018, the ensemble's album with arrangements of Mussorgsky's ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' is a piano suite in ten movements, plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and ...

'' and five of Rachmaninov's '' Études-Tableaux'' was released.

Awards

* 1999: First prize

Deutscher Musikwettbewerb The Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German music competition; ) is a national music competition in Germany for classical soloists and chamber music ensembles held annually by the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council). It was first held in 1975 and ...

* 2000: Prize Premio Trio di TriesteSchloßkonzert – Fauré Quartett
Frankfurter Bürgerstiftung, 10 February 2010 * 2000: Prize Premio Vittorio Gui (Florence) * 2001: Ensemble prize * 2003: First prize Parkhouse Award * 2008:

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 ...

for Brahms piano quartets * 2008:

Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...

* 2008: Kunstpreis Rheinland-PfalzJan-Geert Wolff
Kunstpreis des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz 2008 verliehen
(in German) schreibwolff.de 2008 * 2010: Echo Klassik * 2012:

Brahms-Preis The Brahms-Preis (Brahms Prize) has been awarded by the Brahms Society of Schleswig-Holstein since 1988. The prize is furnished with 10,000 euros. It rewards artists who have contributed mesmerizing work for the preservation of the artistic her ...

* 2012: Musikpreis der Stadt DuisburgMusikpreis Duisburg 2012: Fauré Quartet
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faure Quartett Piano quartets Chamber music groups Echo (music award) winners