Petersen Quartet

Petersen Quartet, 2008.
From left: Ula Ulijona, Henry-David Varema, Conrad Muck, Ulrike Petersen

The Petersen Quartet, named after its founder Ulrike Petersen (* 1961), was one of the leading string quartets . The quartet has not been active since autumn 2009.

history

The ensemble was founded in 1979 in Berlin at the "Hanns Eisler" University of Music and is based there. Mentors were the Amadeus Quartet , Sándor Végh and Thomas Brandis . In 1992 Ulrike Petersen left the quartet for family reasons. Since then, Conrad Muck has led the ensemble as Primarius. From 2008 alternating with Ulrike Petersen, who returned to the quartet.

Last line-up in 2008/2009: Ulrike Petersen, violin, Conrad Muck, violin, Ula Ulijona, viola and Henry-David Varema, violoncello.

Artistic work

In addition to works from the classical and romantic periods, the repertoire included compositions from the 20th century through to new music . The ensemble was in the great string quartet tradition that spanned from Ludwig van Beethoven to Béla Bartók and Arnold Schönberg . It was a regular guest in well-known concert halls.

The quartet has released numerous, multiple award-winning CD recordings by composers such as Franz Schubert , Aribert Reimann , Boris Blacher , Erwin Schulhoff and Ernst Krenek , which have been honored with the German Record Critics' Prize , the Echo Prize and the German Record Prize.

The quartet has also made a name for itself with recordings from Beethoven's late works. For the interpretation of the string quartets op. 18,1 & op. 131 they received several international awards in 1995, including the Grand Prix Académie Chartes Cros , the Editor's Choice des Gramophone and the 1995 Choc Prize from Le Monde de la Musique .

The quartet worked closely with artists such as Christine Schäfer , Juliane Banse , Christiane Oelze , Shlomo Mintz and Renaud Capuçon .

Members (since 1979)

• Violin I : Ulrike Petersen (1979–1992, 2008–2009), Conrad Muck (1992–2009)
• Violin II : Gernot Süßmuth (1979–2000), Daniel Bell (2000–2008), Conrad Muck (2008–2009)
• Viola : Friedemann Weigle (1979–2008, † 2015), Ula Ulijona (2008–2009)
• Violoncello : Hans-Jakob Eschenburg (1979–2000), Henry-David Varema (2000–2009)

Awards

• 2008: Prize of the German Record Critics for the CD with the string quartets No. 3 and No. 5 by Ernst Krenek in the line-up Muck, Bell, Weigle, Varema.
• 2007: Echo Prize “Classic” and Prize of the German Record Critics for “... or should it mean death?” With Christine Schäfer : songs, fragments, string quartets and interludes by Aribert Reimann , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Robert Schumann
• 2003: Prize of the German Record Critics for the CD with the string quartets No. 1 and No. 7 by Ernst Krenek
• 2002: Echo Prize for a recording with Juliane Banse and Wolfram Rieger with works by Guillaume Lekeu and Ernest Chausson
• 1999: Echo Prize in the “Best Chamber Music Recording of the 20th Century” category (for string quartets Death and the Maiden ( Franz Schubert ) and The Maiden and Death ( Siegfried Matthus ))
• 1995: Grand Prix Académie Chartes Cros , Editor's Choice des Gramophone and the Prize Choc 1995 from Le Monde de la Musique for Beethoven's string quartets op.18.1 & op.131
• 1995: German Record Prize for recordings by the composer Erwin Schulhoff
• 1993: German Record Prize for recordings by the composer Erwin Schulhoff
• 1987: 2nd prize winner at the ARD competition in Munich
• 1986: 1st prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Florence
• 1985: 2nd prize winner of the string quartet competition Evian / France
• 1984: 3rd prize at the Prague Spring

Web links

• Frank Vinken: No monoculture - The Petersen Quartet in the Essen Philharmonic and elsewhere. In: k.west - magazine for art, culture and society. November 2005, archived from the original on January 28, 2017 ; accessed on June 11, 2020 . 
• Wolfgang Fuhrmann: But for the time being, you'd rather listen to the Petersen Quartet in the Konzerthaus: You should be able to play a quartet. Berliner Zeitung, March 1, 2003, archived from the original on June 11, 2020 ; accessed on June 11, 2020 . 
• Rare home game for the Berlin Petersen Quartet. Morgenpost, February 27, 2003, archived from the original on June 11, 2020 ; accessed on June 11, 2020 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ One should be able to play a quartet Review, Wolfgang Fuhrmann , March 1, 2003, Berliner Zeitung, accessed October 25, 2011
2. ^ Rare home game for the Berlin Petersen Quartet , article, May 30, 2008, Berliner Morgenpost, accessed October 25, 2011