Since its founding two decades ago, the Leipzig String Quartet has garnered the attention of international critics and audiences with its distinctive dark timbre and meticulously sculpted interpretations of a widely varied repertoire. Formed originally by the string principals of the renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Quartet continues to uphold the principles of sound and integrity ascribed to this great orchestra. Called “one of the towering and most versatile quartets of our time” by the Neue Zuercher Zeitung and lauded by The New York Times for presenting “rich, mellow, unadulterated beauty” and a true “Leipzg sound”—the Quartet is beyond doubt one of the world’s great chamber ensembles.
Today, the Quartet concertizes widely throughout Europe performing at major halls and festivals regularly. Since 1991, the Quartet has had its own “Pro Quatuor” series at the Gewandhaus where it has offered a multi-year cycle of the major quartets of the First and Second Viennese School in addition to premiers and performances of new works by Alfred Schnittke and Wolfgang Rihm.
In addition, the Leipzig String Quartet tours annually throughout North America. Recent appearances include performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Frick Collection, Wolf Trap, the Library of Congress, and chamber music series in Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Ottawa, and Toronto.
Having released over sixty recordings of repertoire spanning from Mozart to Cage, the Quartet has received numerous recognitions for these projects. Strings magazine proclaimed that the Quartet’s recordings of the complete string quartet works of Franz Schubert, are “of the highest order, the interpretations bracing and intense, and the recordings themselves ideal in clarity, richness of sound, and naturalness of acoustics.” Repeatedly the Quartet has won prizes from the German Record Reviewers and both the ECHO and Diapason d’Or awards.
As a member of the Leipzig Ensemble Avantgard, the Quartet remains on the forefront of contemporary music and is able to satisfy its desire to continually perform new music and interact regularly with composers.
The Quartet enjoys collaborating with other artists to enrich and expand its already large repertoire. The ensemble has performed and recorded with Alfred Brendel, Marc-André Hamelin, Joseph Kalichstein, Christian Zacharias, Menahem Pressler, and acclaimed klezmer clarinetist Giora Feidman among others.
