Gershwin Piano Quartet

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Gershwin Piano Quartet
General information
Genre (s) Classical music , jazz
founding 1996
Website www.gershwinpianoquartet.com
Founding members
André Desponds
Nik Bärtsch
Stefan Wirth
Marlis Walter
Current occupation
piano
 André Despond
piano
 Stefan Wirth
piano
 Benjamin Engeli (since 2007)
piano
 Mischa Cheung (since 2007)
former members
piano
 Nik Bärtsch (1996–?)
piano
 Marlis Walter (1996-2005)

The Gershwin Piano Quartet is a music ensemble from Switzerland . The formation consists of four pianists who play on four grand pianos. The quartet is named after the American composer George Gershwin , whose works form the main part of the ensemble's repertoire.

history

The ensemble was founded in 1996 by the Swiss pianist André Desponds (* 1958). At the beginning they included Nik Bärtsch (* 1971), Stefan Wirth (* 1975) and Marlis Walter (* 1976). In addition to André Desponds and Stefan Wirth, who are still there, Benjamin Engeli (* 1978) and Mischa Cheung (* 1984) have been part of the quartet since 2007 .

The focus of the quartet's performances is in Switzerland and Germany. But it has also performed several times in other European countries and has undertaken concert tours to non-European countries, e.g. B. 2009 to China , 2010 to Dubai , 2011 to Brazil and Lebanon . A series of 12 concerts is planned for 2013 as part of the Swiss touring theater Das Zelt .

Arrangements

Since there are hardly any works for four grand pianos , the ensemble starts with orchestral pieces or songs and develops arrangements for four grand pianos based on them. The spatial distribution of the voices is taken into account in these arrangements. New tonal possibilities are exploited such as B. striking the strings in the piano with soft mallets or glissandi with your fingers directly on the strings.

The quartet also improvises classical works. From a topic of Astor Piazzolla one was joint together, which also logs as percussion instruments are used. George Gershwin, who gave the quartet its name, also stands for the combination of classical composition and jazz improvisation.

repertoire

The repertoire includes all works by George Gershwin. In the course of time, works by other composers were added. These include u. a.

Each of the pianists is also represented in the program with a solo piece.

Discography

  • 1999: Playing on 4 Pianos (Jecklin Edition)
  • 2010: Gershwin Piano Quartet CD (self-published)
  • 2010: be.four ( ZHdK Records , CD & DVD)
  • 2012: Edition Klavier-Festival Ruhr Volume 29 (including three pieces of music)
  • 2018: Transatlantiques (Sony)

Web links

Commons : Gershwin Piano Quartet  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 4 pianos. In: Website of the Gershwin Piano Quartet. Retrieved December 10, 2012 .
  2. ↑ 4 pianists. In: Website of the Gershwin Piano Quartet. Retrieved December 10, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Past events. In: Facebook page of the Gershwin Piano Quartet. Retrieved December 11, 2012 .
  4. ^ The Gershwin Piano Quartet. In: www.smartshanghai.com. Retrieved December 11, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Swiss Days Dubai 2010. (No longer available online.) In: www.timeoutdubai.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015 ; Retrieved December 11, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.timeoutdubai.com
  6. ^ Gershwin Piano Quartet toca na Sala São Paulo pelo Mozarteum. In: Voz Ativa Madrigal. Retrieved December 11, 2012 .
  7. ^ The Gershwin Piano Quartet At Baalbeck International Festival. In: www.beirutnightlife.com. Retrieved December 11, 2012 .
  8. ^ Concerts. In: Website of the Gershwin Piano Quartet. Retrieved December 12, 2012 .
  9. ↑ Thomas Meyer in conversation with Benjamin Engeli and Stefan Wirth. In: Supplement to the CD be.four . August 2010
  10. ↑ repertoire. In: Website of the Gershwin Piano Quartet. Retrieved December 10, 2012 .
  11. ↑ CD. In: Website of the Gershwin Piano Quartet. Retrieved December 10, 2012 .
  12. ↑ Gershwin Piano Quartet - be.four. (No longer available online.) In: Website of ZHdK Records. Formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 18, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / zhdkrecords.zhdk.ch  
  13. ^ Edition Piano Festival Ruhr Volume 29. In: Website of the Piano Festival. Retrieved December 8, 2012 .