Schumann Quartet with Matan Porat in Donaueschingen 2020

The Schumann Quartet is a German

string quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

founded in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in 2007, consisting of the three brothers Erik Schumann (violin), Ken Schumann (violin) and Mark Schumann (

violoncello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched 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, C ...

) as well as the viola player Veit Hertenstein. It is not named after the composer

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, but after the three Schumann brothers.

Members

* 1. Violin: Erik Schumann * 2. Violin: Ken Schumann * Viola: Ayako Goto (until 2012), Liisa Randalu (2012–2022), Veit Hertenstein (since 2022) * Cello: Mark Schumann

Education

The ensemble was trained by the

Alban Berg Quartet The Alban Berg Quartett (ABQ) was a string quartet founded in Vienna, named after the composer Alban Berg. Active from 1970 to 2008, the group included first violinist Günter Pichler and cellist Valentin Erben, while the second violinist was ...

in Cologne and especially by

Günter Pichler Günter Pichler (born 9 September 1940) is an Austrian violinist, teacher and conductor. He was the 1st violin in the Alban Berg Quartett. Biography Günter Pichler was born and raised in Kufstein, Tyrol, Austria.Nach Altmann, W.: ''Kurzgefass ...

at the

Reina Sofía School of Music The Reina Sofía School of Music (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Spanish) is a private music school founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1991 by Paloma O'Shea. It belongs to the Albéniz Foundation, and it bears the name of its Honorary Pr ...

in Madrid. The quartet gained

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

experience with Harald Schoneweg of the

Cherubini Quartet The Cherubini Quartet () was a German string quartet from Düsseldorf, founded in 1978. It is named after the Italian composer Luigi Cherubini, who wrote six string quartets. The Cherubini Quartet has won international acclaim with its interpretat ...

. Further mentor was Eberhard Feltz.

Concert and management

Since the 2009/2010 season, the Schumann Quartet has been in the Robert Schumann Hall in Düsseldorf with the series "Erstklassik"

Artist in Residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

. The ensemble is a regular guest in halls such as the

Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls: * Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium * Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands {{disambiguation Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...

Amsterdam and the

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

in London. Concert performances take the ensemble regularly throughout Europe, to Japan and Canada. The Schumann Quartet is one of the artists of the

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City and around the world. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber m ...

in New York.

Chamber music partner

Chamber music partners of the quartet are

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler (; 16 December 1923 – 6 May 2023) was a German-born Israeli-American pianist and academic teacher. He was known for his work with the Beaux Arts Trio that he co-founded in 1955, playing until its dissolution in 2008, in hund ...

Henri Sigfridsson Henri Sigfridsson (born 1974) is a Finnish classical pianist. Studies Born in Turku, Sigfridsson began his musical studies in his native hometown conservatory. He then attended Erik T. Tawaststjerna's class at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. ...

Sabine Meyer Sabine Meyer (born 30 March 1959) is a German classical clarinetist. Biography Born in Crailsheim, Baden-Württemberg, Meyer began playing the clarinet at an early age. Her first teacher was her father, also a clarinetist. She studied with Otto ...

Nils Mönkemeyer Nils Mönkemeyer (born 1978) is a German violist and academic teacher. He has recorded several CDs, of viola literature and arrangements for the viola, making it a respected solo instrument. He has been awarded several international prizes. Car ...

Nicolas Altstaedt Nicolas Altstaedt (born 1982) is a German-French cellist. His versatile career incorporates solo performance, chamber music, conducting, and artistic programming, with a repertoire spanning from early music to the contemporary. Early life and e ...

and

Albrecht Mayer Albrecht Mayer (born 3 June 1965) is a German classical oboist and conductor. The principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, he is internationally known as a soloist and chamber musician and has made many recordings. Biography Born in Erlang ...

Recordings

The Schumann Quartet's debut CD with works by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Bartók and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

was released in April 2013 on the ARS-Produktion label (). The second CD with works by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Ame ...

and

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

was released in January 2015 (). The ensemble is represented with radio recordings on

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...

, NDR, SWR,

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

and SRF. In 2017, the album ''Landscapes'' with works by Haydn, Bartok, Takemitsu and Pärt was released by Berlin Classics, with which they received the

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), ...

(). * * *

Awards

The Schumann Quartet was prizewinner of the 7th International Chamber Music Competition in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and the "

Premio Paolo Borciani The International String Quartet Competition "Premio Paolo Borciani" was created in 1987 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and is dedicated to their famous fellow citizen, founder and first violin of thQuartetto Italiano The promoter and organiser iFondazion ...

" (both 2011). It won first prizes at the 8th International Competition "Schubert und die Musik der Moderne" in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

(2012) and at the renowned string quartet competition in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

(2013). In 2014, the "Jürgen Ponto Foundation" has awarded the music prize in the string quartet category to the Schumann Quartet. The Schumann Quartet is a scholarship holder of the

Villa Musica Villa Musica is a foundation of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate and the broadcaster Südwestrundfunk. Its goals are to support young performers of classical music and to run concerts. It is based in Mainz at the . A second institute of the f ...

Foundation Rhineland-Palatinate and was supported by the "Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation""Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation"
/ref> and the "Werner Richard-Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation". The ensemble is an award winner of the WDR series "Taste the Best – The Stars of Tomorrow" in cooperation with the

Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln The Cologne University of Music () is a public university of music and dance located in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Established in 1850 as the Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln, it is one of the largest music academies in Europe, w ...

. The quartet is represented by the Impresariat Simmenauer in Berlin.

References

External links

* {{authority control German string quartets 2007 establishments in Germany Music in Cologne