Schumann Quartet
The Schumann Quartet is a German-Estonian string quartet founded in Cologne in 2007 and consists of the three brothers Erik, Ken ( violin ) and Mark Schumann ( cello ) as well as the violist Liisa Randalu.
In its naming, it not only refers to the composer Robert Schumann , but above all to the family name of the three Schumann brothers.
Members
- 1st violin: Erik Schumann
- 2nd violin: Ken Schumann
- Viola: Ayako Goto (until 2012), Liisa Randalu (from 2012)
- Violoncello: Mark Schumann
education
The ensemble was trained by studying with the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne and especially with Günter Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Reina Sofia in Madrid. The quartet gained chamber music experience with Harald Schoneweg from the Cherubini Quartet . Other mentors were Eberhard Feltz , Rainer Schmidt and Henk Guittart .
Concerts and management
Since the 2009/2010 season, the Schumann Quartet has been Artist in Residence in the Robert Schumann Hall in Düsseldorf with the series “First Classics” . The ensemble is a regular guest in halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam or the Wigmore Hall in London. The ensemble has performed regularly throughout Europe, Japan and Canada. The Schumann Quartet is one of the artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York.
The quartet is represented by the Impresariat Simmenauer in Berlin.
Chamber music partner
Chamber music partners of the quartet are Menahem Pressler , Henri Sigfridsson , Sabine Meyer , Nils Mönkemeyer , Nicolas Altstaedt and Albrecht Mayer .
Recordings
The Schumann Quartet's debut CD with works by Beethoven , Bartók and Brahms was released in April 2013 on the ARS-Produktion label. The second CD with works by Mozart , Ives and Verdi was released in January 2015. The ensemble is represented with radio recordings on WDR , NDR , SWR , Radio France 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 German Record Critics' Prize.
Awards
The young ensemble was awarded first prize at the renowned string quartet competition in Bordeaux (2013) and first prize at the 8th International Competition “Schubert and Modern Music” in Graz (2012). It is also the winner of the 7th international chamber music competition in Osaka and the “ Premio Paolo Borciani ” (both 2011).
The Schumann Quartet is a scholarship holder of the Villa Musica Rhineland-Palatinate Foundation and was supported by the “Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation” and the “Werner Richard-Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation ”. The ensemble is the winner of the WDR series "Taste the Best - The Stars of Tomorrow" in cooperation with the Cologne University of Music and Dance . In 2014 the “Jürgen Ponto Foundation” awarded the music prize in the string quartet category to the Schumann Quartet.