The ensemble, consisting of the brothers Erik, Ken and Mark Schumann along with Estonian violist Liisa Randalu, has impressed audiences worldwide ever since winning the renowned Concours de Bordeaux in May 2003. Critics have praised their “high emotional intelligence” and “supreme technical accomplishment,” declaring: “the future belongs to them.”

Founded 2007 in Cologne and in its current formation since 2012, the Schumann Quartet attracted much attention early on. The ensemble is prize winner of international competitions such as the Premio Paolo Borciani in Italy and the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan, and winner of the Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz, Austria in 2012 and of the Premier Prix de Quatuor à Bordeaux in 2013.

Among the ensemble’s formative experiences were their studies with the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne and with Günther Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Reina Sofia in Madrid. Chamber music instruction by the Cherubini Quartet’s Harald Schoneweg was an important source of inspiration during the quartet’s early days, as was the artistic collaboration with Eberhard Feltz. Among the ensemble’s chamber music partners are renowned artists such as Menahem Pressler, Henri Sigfridsson, Sabine Meyer, Nils Mönkemeyer, Diemut Poppen, Nicolas Altstaedt and David Orlowsky.

An encounter of a different kind with Hyung-ki Joo of the duo Igudesman & Joo inspired the quartet to take to the stage this season with a humoresque programme. Beginning with the 2009/10 season, the Schumann Quartet has been artist in residence at the “Erstklassik” concert series at the Robert Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf.

The Schumann Quartet has made numerous live recordings with broadcasters such as WDR, SWR and Radio France; their debut recording with works by Beethoven, Bartók and Brahms was released in April 2013 to great critical acclaim. A second recording is set to appear in November of 2014. The Schumann Quartet is supported by the Villa Musica Rheinland-Palatinate Foundation and by the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation.

In February 2014, the Jürgen Ponto Foundation awarded its Music Prize for String Quartet, worth € 60,000, to the Schumann Quartet. During the upcoming season, the ensemble will appear at renowned music festivals and give debut performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and at Vienna’s Musikverein.

Date laste edited: October 2014
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