The radio.string.quartet, interim radio.string.quartet.vienna, is a contemporary

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 violinist ...

based in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. They are known for using a big variety of musical styles including classical,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

and

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included se ...

in their compositions and arrangements. Despite their name they have no artistic connection to any radio station.

History

The quartet was one of the big discoveries of the

Berlin Jazz Festival JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included ...

in 2006 with its adaptation of the music of the

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 ...

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

wrote the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

to their first album: ...."From the first note I was struck by the way this group had 'appropriated' my music and made it their very own. They even got the atmosphere which was present all those years ago. The other aspect that touched me deeply was the importance they attach to improvisation, and they do improvise!.... ...This is no ordinary string quartet. The love of, and the dedication they have to their respective instruments is marvellous, and the fact that they have taken what was electric jazz-fusion music, fused it with their training in 'classical' music, and conserved the 'electric' atmosphere is outstanding." ''Radiodream'' (2011) marked a new chapter in the band's history: it is the most independent work of the quartet containing a huge percentage of their own compositions, which show the various musical and cultural backgrounds of the band members. ''Posting Joe - Celebrating Weather Report - live'' (2013) is paying homage to their fellow countryman, the great composer and pianist/keyboard player

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to b ...

. It was voted "#2 jazz album of the year 2013" by

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

. In 2014 the band began to work on ''in between silence'' (2017), which defined a new operation mode both in their studio work and in their live-performance. The use of voices and

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

widens the band's horizons considerably, a stylistic device which is now used for the first time on several pieces. The album compositions - exclusively written by the quartet - basically were re-arranged for the live-performance. With that step the band tried to adapt the spatial variability of listening to music live or from an album. For ''in between silence'' album the band worked with a co-producer for the first time, the Norwegian pianist and NuJazz-pioneer

Bugge Wesseltoft Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft (born 1 February 1964) is a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer, and producer, son of jazz guitarist Erik Wesseltoft. Career In 1989, Wesseltoft collaborated with the Knut Riisnæs Quartet and was soon after ...

. In 2020 the band begins with their "quadrology", whose basic idea is to represent the 4 elements earth, fire, air and water in their musical language and to relate them to each other. For each individual element there will be collaborations and a different line-up, the center and musical link of which will be radio.string.quartet. The first element to appear, for the first time on her own label SeeYulette, was Erd' with the Austrian singer and composer

Roland Neuwirth Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

in June 2020. In 2022 they released ''B:A:C:H • like waters'', an audiovisual journey based on

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

's g-minor Violin Solosonata. In 2022 they released ''B:A:C:H • like waters'', an audiovisual journey based on

's g-minor Violin Solosonata.

Discography

* ''Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra'' (2007; ACT) * ''Radiotree'', with Klaus Paier (2008; ACT) * appearance on

Ulf Wakenius Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The fe ...

's ''Love is real'' (2008; ACT) * ''Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra live at Traumzeit Festival''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

(2009; ACT) * with

Rigmor Gustafsson Rigmor Elisabeth Gustafsson (born 12 April 1966) is a Swedish jazz singer. Gustafsson comes from a musical family. Her sister Christina is also a singer in the field of jazz. At the age of eight she learned how to play the guitar at the public ...

: ''Calling you'' (2010; ACT) * ''Radiodream'' (2011; ACT) * ''Posting Joe - Celebrating Weather Report - live'' (2013; ACT) * ''in between silence'' (2017; Jazzland) * ''Erd (2020; SeeYulette) * ''B:A:C:H • like waters'' (2022; SeeYulette)

Awards

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

for ''Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra'' * Pasticcio-Preis for ''Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra''

Literature

* radio.string.quartet: ''Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra''. ergeo, 2007

References

External links

* {{Authority control Austrian jazz ensembles Musical groups from Vienna Musical groups established in 2006 Austrian string quartets Austrian folk music groups Austrian pop music groups Austrian rock music groups