|
|
 |
Donald E. Osborne, Director California Artists Management 564 Market Street, Suite 420, San Francisco, CA 94104-5412 415 362-2787 / fax: 415 362-2838 / Skype: calartistsdon / Email |
Susan Endrizzi Morris, Director California Artists Management P.O. Box 2479, Mendocino, CA 95460-2479 707-937-4787 / cell: 415-302-1083 / Skype: sueendrizzi / Email |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Download Bio Download Discography Website |
Mandelring Quartet
Sebastian Schmidt - violin • Nanette Schmidt - violin Roland Glassl - viola • Bernhard Schmidt - violoncello
The Mandelring Quartet celebrated its 25th
Anniversary in 2009 |
The Mandelring Quartet’s remarkable homogeneity
of sound, intonation and phrasing has become its distinguishing characteristic;
four individuals who play as one in their shared determination to always seek
out the innermost core of the music and remain open to the musical truth. By
grasping the spiritual dimension, exploring the emotional extremes and working
on the details, these musicians probe far beneath the surface of each work, thus
revealing the multiplicity of meanings inherent in each. Their approach to the
music is always both emotional and personal. All this combines to make the
Mandelring Quartet one of the most high-profile ensembles on the international
chamber music scene.
As winners of several major international competitions – Munich (ARD),
Evian and Reggio Emilia (Premio Paolo Borciani) – the Mandelring Quartet has
emerged as one of the important string quartets of today, appearing at the
world's great concert venues. In addition to numerous performances in Germany,
the Mandelring Quartet's concert tours have taken them throughout Europe -
Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels,
Copenhagen, London, Madrid, Paris, Vienna- annually to North America - New York,
Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal - Asia – Japan
(Osaka, Tokyo) - Central and South America – Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo -
and the Middle East.
The Mandelring Quartet has enjoyed highly successful appearances at the
Rheingau Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and other important
international festivals such as Lockenhaus, Montpellier, Montreal, Ottawa, the
Engadiner Konzertwochen in Switzerland and the Salzburg Festival, where they
have been invited to present the complete cycle of Shostakovich string quartets
in summer 2011.
Their artistic imprint is very much in evidence in the programs of the
HAMBACHERMusikFEST, founded in 1997
under the Mandelring Quartet's artistic direction. This international chamber
music festival takes place each year in the celebrated castle at Hambach on
Germany's Weinstrasse in a picturesque setting among the vineyards. The ensemble
invites eminent soloists from Germany and abroad and collaborates with them to
put together varied programs using widely diverse instrumental combinations. In
the 2010 the Mandelring Quartet began its own series of concerts at the
Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonic.
The Quartet's numerous CD and Super Audio CD recordings have been awarded
the German Record Critics' Prize and been nominated for the MIDEM Classical
Award. Numbering more than two dozen, their recordings include a Schubert string
quartet cycle, piano quintets by Brahms and Franck, chamber works by the French
early romantic composer Georges Onslow and most
recently the string quartets of
Janáček. The series "Brahms and his
Contemporaries" is devoted to the quartets of Brahms and less well-known
composers such as Friedrich Gernsheim and Heinrich von Herzogenberg.
The Strad Magazine selected the first CD
of this series as their CD Of The Month saying: “Here the Mandelring combine
the LaSalle Quartet’s intellectual vigor with the Amadeus’ unbridled passion to
provide the best of both worlds.”
Their recently released recordings
of the complete string quartets of Shostakovich has received several awards and
been hailed by the specialist press as one of the outstanding complete
recordings of our time. “The
direct comparison I've done puts the Mandelring Quartet's cycle up with the
best. If I were to shed all but two cycles, 1 would keep the Borodin cycle and
the Mandelring Quartet.” Fanfare
September
2011
Please discard any previously printed materials
Critical Acclaim:
“Stunning Mandelring Quartet in Salzburg – A Great Moment for Music”:
“Nearly 30 years of quartet-playing
experience, and that among siblings and friends
no less, is an absolute guarantee
for perfect ensemble playing. When one adds artistic ambition and performs
Shostakovich's 15 Quartets – probably the most important quartet cycle of the
twentieth century - within two days during the course of the Salzburg Festival,
then such a project can become a great moment. And this was indeed the case with
the Mandelring Quartet at the Great Hall of the Mozarteum on Thursday. The
Mandelring Quartet was once again able to display its inimitable
characteristics. Especially impressive were the slow movements, which were lent
an incredible depth under the bows of the Mandelrings.”
Oberösterreichische Nachrichten – Aug. 20, 2011
“After
four concerts in two days, as the Mandelring Quartet breathed out the final,
sparse notes of Shostakovich's 15th String Quartet, Friday
after 10:00 PM at the Mozarteum, it
was finally time to give them a standing ovation.
Pure silence following this ever-magnificent, intense and unique artistic
effort would have been more
appropriate. But it would not have sufficiently expressed the
gratitude owed for
their enormous achievement. A
memorable experience, not soon to be repeated.”
Salzburger Nachrichten –
Aug. 22, 2011
“As each work brought the
Mandelring Quartet closer to the
final 15th, the intensity of playing increased
– twelve concert hours in two days,
a complete string-quartet cycle that will remain with us for a long
time. Simply breathtaking.”
Salzburger Volkszeitung – Aug. 22, 2011
“The
Mandelrings reveal a flair for the characteristically rhapsodic style and the
broad, almost symphonic breath permeating the chamber music of Shostakovich.
They placed themselves in the tradition of the first interpreters of these
works, the Beethoven Quartet of Russia who – unlike their contemporary
competitors – largely abstained from all high-pressure expression while bringing
out the increasingly resigned, radical quality of this music all the more
strongly. Shostakovich himself sarcastically provided these performing tips for
his harrowing E-flat minor Quartet of 1974: ‘Play the first movement so that the
flies fall dead from the sky and the public leaves the hall out of sheer
boredom.’ The Salzburg audience, however, deeply moved, remained seated until
the very end.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – Aug. 24, 2011
“The
Mandelring Quartet is to be admired. Sebastian, Nanette and Bernhard Schmidt
with Roland Glassl work out concentrated nuances and refinement,
intensifying their playing during brutally rapturous cascades without ever
surrendering control over tone quality and sound. They are ideally-matched
executors of these works.”
DrehPunktKultur.at – Aug. 19, 2011
Janacek recording:
“The Mandelring Quartet plays with near-perfect intonation, razor-sharp
articulation, and very precise ensemble in these highly recommendable
performances. Their playing is showcased by the very vivid sound of Audite’s
SACD recording in which the micing pinpoints the exact location of each player.
Along with its extraordinary recorded sound, the Mandelring’s disc stands out
among a surplus of excellent versions of these works for including an alternate
version of the second quartet. What’s fascinating is how the gentler timbre of
the viola d’amore, often the work’s melodic protagonist, sweetens the tone of
Janáček declarations of love. The other instruments react with adjustments to
their volume and the general effect is less fierce than with the more projected
voice of the normal viola. If you love this piece, the viola d’amore version
gives insight into what Janáček imagined, but it’s very subtle.”
Fanfare Magazine – July/August
2011
Outstanding reviews for their series at the Berlin
Philharmonic:
“It’s not always a compliment to a musician to say that
one is pleased when he stops. But it’s different with the Mandelring Quartet.
The ensemble, which has established itself as the top German
string quartet, is in the process
of presenting a series of movement endings that are so light-footed and yet so
suspenseful, that the listener constantly has to pinch himself to make sure he
isn’t dreaming. Endings that are so effective are of course a logical sequel to
what has been heard beforehand. The gentle excitement of an evening’s offering
devoted to the friendship between the composers Janácek, Dvorák and Brahms is
crafted by the quartet from an approach that seeks to avoid stark effects. In
what follows, the players make their own point. In Janácek’s String Quartet No.
1, passion and resignation are subtly balanced, as is the constant interplay of
tonal colours, tempi and the structure of the movements. The Mandelring Quartet
interprets Brahms’s String Quartet No. 2 both convincingly and with consistency.
So it is good news, announced before the encore, that the quartet’s series will
continue next February.”
Der Tagesspiegel – May 12, 2011
“Lightness of touch, svelte beauty of sound and
breathtaking transparency are the hallmarks of the Mandelring Quartet’s playing.
It is a delight to hear how they take over the charming, lilting theme of the
Andante from each other in turn so as to exhibit their solo qualities; the mood
in the Finale is sparkling. In Mendelssohn’s E flat major quartet the first
violin, Sebastian Schmidt, has to deliver what is in effect a solo concerto, yet
nothing can upset the soft, warm-toned balance of his partners. In the Finale
the lyrical character of the first three movements, which at times has something
of the prettiness of the drawing-room about it, is transformed into effervescent
passion – a mood that the late-romantic César Franck succeeded in taking to
dizzy heights in his monumental Piano Quintet. It is a small miracle that the
ensemble
keeps its transparent composure, introduces accents into the meandering flow to
give it structure, and navigates around any potential lapse of taste with
unerring nobility.”
Der Tagesspiegel -
February 16, 2011
There are quite
a few excellent recordings to choose from that pair these two works. This new
release from the Mandelring Quartet, however, is very appealing, and not just
because it’s the first SACD version I’m aware of that couples the quartet and
quintet on the same disc. Whether it has to do with the recording itself, the
placement of the musicians on the stage, the acoustics of the Bayer Kulturhaus
in Leverkusen, Germany, where the performances were recorded, the
extraordinarily transparent playing of the Mandelring Quartet, or some
combination of the above, I have never heard such detail emerge from these
scores. It’s almost like hearing these pieces for the first time. At the very
beginning of the quartet, in the slow introduction, each entrance of the strings
seems to materialize out of the piano’s decaying notes as they hang in the air,
creating a magical atmosphere of expectancy. Or, take the rapid downward run
that announces the development section. In other recordings I’ve heard, it’s
just a rapid blur, kind of like the effect of a glissando on the piano. But here
the individual notes are heard distinctly. Take the passage beginning at 5:19.
So often what is heard in the piano at this point is an indistinct rumbling in
the bass, but here you realize that in counterpoint to the strings the piano is
actually playing a modulating sequence based on the first four notes of the
Allegro. These may seem like little things, and individually they are; but when
you put them all together, they add up to a performance of exceptional sharpness
and character, not to mention raising one’s appreciation of Schumann’s
ingenuity. This is playing that points out every accent along the way and
manages to highlight every hand-off of material from one voice to another even
amid one of the fleetest movements in the chamber music repertoire. The Andante
cantabile pulsates with lump-in-the-throat throbbing, and the Finale displays
such exactitude and cleanness of execution that it actually sounds much faster
than it is. Everything I’ve said about the Mandelring’s performance of the
quartet applies equally to the quintet. It’s an exceptionally revealing reading
in which every detail is laid bare. What I marvel at is how carefully prepared,
rehearsed, and controlled these performances are—as if nothing has been left to
chance—yet how spontaneous and animated they still manage to sound. Timing, as
they say, is everything. Unfortunately, another recording of Schumann’s piano
quartet with the Eaken Trio came to me in the same batch of review assignments
as this one, a performance that could not help but suffer in comparison. I’ve
heard a number of the Mandelring’s CDs, and even reviewed two or three of them
in prior issues, and while the ensemble has always impressed me favorably, quite
honestly I was not prepared for anything of this caliber. Other
contributors—namely Brenesal, Anderson, McColley, and Laurson—have all spoken of
the Mandelring’s alertness, exceptional coordination, and scrupulousness in
attention to detail. But this Schumann disc passes beyond all that into the
rarefied realm of the sublime. I haven’t yet made my final selections for this
year’s Want List, but if this release isn’t on it, I’ll be as surprised as
anyone. Need I say, recommended with the greatest urgency?
Jerry Dubins from Fanfare Magazine -
December 2010
On Mandelring’s new CD
of Janáček’s string quartets:
“This would count as a desirable disc of
Janáček’s quartets even without its added
extra. And quite an extra it is: a
second performance of the Second Quartet with a viola d’amore replacing the
viola. The viola d’amore was
Janáček’s original choice, a personification of the passion he felt for the
object of the “intimate letters that give the quartet its title.
That original (reconstructed) version is played here with Gunter Teuffel
playing an instrument the composer himself would have known.
Just to confuse the listener, the ‘normal’ version comes second on this
disc, not third as it appears in the track listings.
The Mandelring players bring a remarkable high-voltage intensity to all
these quartets, aided by a resonant acoustic, with an urgent sense of
communication achieved through a freedom of pulse underlying powerfully
sustained musical paragraphs. They
can be beautiful, certainly, in both quartets, but this is disquieting stuff,
superbly played. Against such
applying the softer viola d’amore sometimes sounds a little weak, even with
certain adjustments to the other parts – the normally bowed opening is now
pizzicato. The ensemble is better
balanced with violist Roland Glassl among his colleagues.
But there is a bittersweet tang to the viola d’amore: no wonder
Janáček’s was reluctant to part with it.”
Tim Homfray from The Strad – December 2010
World’s Six Best String Quartets FonoForum:
“The
Mandelring Quartet is the second ensemble in this selection in which three
siblings communicate with each other. This may be just a coincidence; perhaps,
however, it is an indication that teamwork is facilitated by common roots. The
three Schmidts and their viola colleague Roland Glassl also achieve a maximum of
homogeneity and organic phrasing, without having to hide their own strong
characters. When these prerequisites are employed in a lively, expressive and
tasteful manner as they are here, then interpretations of gripping intensity can
come into being. And here the ensemble has recently been successful above all
with its Shostakovich recordings, the exceptional quality of which assigns the
Mandelring Quartet a place among the leading international quartets.”
Markus Staebler of FonoForum – November 2010
Collaboration with marimbist Katarzyna Myćka:
“To begin,
the Mandelring Quartet played alone with expression of controlled excitement.
The interpretations of Mendelssohn's third and Debussy's only string quartet
were bursting with dazzling life. The precision of articulation and the tonal
purity are both unprecedented. They find their counterpart in the vibrating
musical current of energy, spiced with a lot of pepper. Tonal friction is
stressed in its dramatic function without unduly emphasizing it. So it is
actually amazing how homogeneously the marimba, with wooden mallets, adapts to
the emotional sound of the string instruments. Séjournés’ and Rosauros’ concerti
for marimba and strings mix Latin-American rhythms and movements oriented to
European compositional structure into striking, scherzande pieces
of music. The virtuosity, the lively, enthusiastic, sheer love of playing of the
soloist Katarzyna Myćka refreshed the audience with a breeze of swinging
nonchalance. On this evening there could be no question of a crisis in the
chamber music concert scene.”
Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Nov. 8, 2010
“Sebastian, Nanette and Bernhard Schmidt and their colleague Roland Glassl
worked up a burning intensity and were able to combine fiery musicality with
dark brilliance in ensembles and solo development. What followed were two
works that exactly complemented what best suited the program:
wonderful and rich in
colour. The four string players invited the marimba
virtuoso Katarzyna Myćka; this combination with classical quartet was a splendid
event. In pieces by Séjourné and Rosauro, she let out all the stops, from gentle
strokes on the keyboard to powerful, physically impressive outbursts; all the
while in elegant tone and inspired harmony with the stylistically certain
Mandelring Quartet. The conclusion? Chamber Music can be and
is great fun.”
Stuttgarter
Zeitung, Nov. 10, 2010
“This new release commands attention with a reconstruction of the Second Quartet
in its original form, complete with viola d’amore. This issue is more than a
fascinating curiosity, with the Mandelring Quartet fully at ease with the
technical demands of both quartets. There’s a magical
largamente climax in the middle of the Second Quartet’s third
movement and it sounds stunning here – an explicit declaration of love, the
first violin singing out in the upper register. Both works are masterpieces, and
I envy anyone hearing them for the first time.”
TheArtsDesk.com – Oct. 23, 2010
“A stirring German-French co-productions - the
renowned Mandelring Quartet found the Parisian pianist Claire-Marie Le Guay for
its recording of Schumann's Piano Quintet.
The result is both subtle and bold.”
ARTE – June 29, 2010
“The Mandelring Quartet’s repertoire is wide and inclusive, but that such
vivacious,
robust young musicians should want to immerse themselves in this
mournful,
despondent music is amazing. Equally remarkable is the skill with which
they
negotiate its violent mood swings, from grotesque ‘gallows humor’ to
bleak despair.
The solos and duets are spare and desolate, the slashing chords forceful,
the sound
effects eerie, the long glissandi – very slow, almost measured – ominous.
The
Mandelrings underline contrasts of mood and character with color and
articulation.
The Mandelring Quartet is a family affair, but that alone cannot account
for their perfect balance and intonation, their musical unanimity and
instrumental equality. This final volume of their Shostakovich cycle brings a
major undertaking to an impressive conclusion.”
Strings Magazine – June 2010
“Another revelation are the
audiophile recordings of the Mandelring Quartet. The sheer beauty of all of
Shostakovich's brilliantly harrowing ugliness that these discs reveal, is
something to behold. It's so good. One exception to the seething-calm of these
quartets is the harrowingly sudden, jagged opening of the 11th quartet, which is
ripped into with such joyous ferocity by the Borodin Quartet that it seems
difficult to top. The Mandelring won't be outdone this time. The group's slash
is yet even more explosive, even as its tone remains, as always, utterly
refined. The German quartet gets the mix just right. To my ears, the
Mandelring's carefully considered, always unpredictable ways are a treasure.
Yes, its performances are polished and meticulous, even immaculate. But its
unpredictability – terribly refined one second, ruthlessly vigorous the next –
keeps it from being relegated to the lot of ‘mild mannered’ cycles. The dynamic
range and fidelity of the recordings does its part to lift it above much of the
competition. I prefer this cycle. The direct comparison I've done puts the
Mandelring Quartet's cycle up with the best of the non-Russian Shostakovich
interpretations. If I were to shed all but two cycles, 1 would keep the Borodin
cycle and the Mandelring Quartet.”
Fanfare – May 2010
An outstanding review for the final CD of the
complete Shostakovich string quartets:
“Shostakovich: score!’ There are no surprises
in the final recording of Shostakovich’s complete works by the Mandelring
Quartet which confirms all the malleable qualities seen in the previous volumes,
and likewise proceeds in a western style, full of drive. That’s what strikes
most in this version: it aims towards achievement. There is drama, but in the
English theatrical meaning of the word, not the tormenting, tragic Latin sense.
Which adds to accessibility. Shostakovich loved soccer and his music has enough
character to leave the door open to contrasting interpretative options. The
English-speaking press seems fond of the Mandelring’s straight-to-the-goal
vision.”
ResMusica (France) – May 18, 2010
“Their playing is tonally blended and
blemish free; they are scrupulous in their attention to internal details like
shifting tempo indications, such as those in the 12th Quartet's two extended
movements; and they present a coherent, unified point of view throughout all
three works. There are moments in this music that can set your hair on end or
take your breath away.”
Fanfare - September/October 2009
“From the very first notes the musicians captivated the audience through
their
perfect homogeneity. Even the most subtle phrasing, accents and dynamic shadings
were given with perfect synchronicity. When the Mandelring Quartet is here, one should
not expect less than a triumph of chamber music.” Neues Deutschland – April 13, 2010
“Purity
of tone rings in heavenly places throughout their performance.”
Fanfare - July/August 2009
The Mandelring Quartet received a superb
review for its latest Shostakovich CD:
“If we had a hologram image of the
Mandelring Quartet, the illusion of the ensemble’s vivid presence would be
complete, so palpable are the four instruments in SACD processing.” Audiophile
Audition - March 9, 2009
“Those who love chamber music should not
miss this weekend’s visit by the Mandelring Quartet, a phenomenal trio of
siblings-plus-one playing here for the first time. The Mandelring four played
like demons possessed. And, frankly, this came as a surprise following their
Zen-like performance of Mozart’s ‘Hunt’ Quartet in which the playing projected a
gentle, flawless mastery emanating from a nucleus of calm control. One could say
that the movements were all ‘superbly judged’ in terms of dynamics and phrasing,
but these musicians have seemingly surpassed making ‘judgments.’ They have it in
their bones. This is a work close to the Mandelring’s hearts, and they excelled
in every one of the score’s challenges. The last movement presto is a perfect
fusion of mental and emotional energy. And that’s the way it was played.”
SanDiego.com - March 7, 2009
“The
music scene suffered a severe loss when the Alban Berg Quartet disbanded. But in
art, everything "flows": the Mandelrings' Schubert recordings already showed
that they have the stuff to form the new "pinnacle" of their profession. These
Shostakovich recordings demonstrate that this pinnacle is not only rooted in
tradition but extends into the modern age.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - July 19, 2008
Headline: “Winning Ways”
“The Mandelring Quartet comprises three
players surnamed Schmidt and violist Roland Glassl. Their sounds are more than
usually well-matched, lean, airy, and zingily vibrated. Glassl's viola is the
most striking of the four, with a lovely woody quality to its resonance. Along
with what most quartets would call bedrock repertoire the ensemble has devoted a
lot of its studio time to music
way off the beaten track - and it has done so with a level of care and
polish that I've come not to expect from ensembles that root around in the
byways of the 19th century. What I've heard of the Mandelrings' 19th-century
explorations impresses me most for the players' skill in intuiting and
projecting the shape of an unfamiliar piece to its best advantage. They play
music they must have learned from scratch just as though they had grown up with
it in their ears. Tchaikovsky's 1876 Third Quartet presents much the same array
of interpretive obstacles. A lot of quartets find the scales tipping the wrong
way, which is why performances of this work are scarce. Few quartets have the
Mandelrings' particular advantages. The most important of these are a sure sense
of pacing and a most attractive collective sound. The Mandelring players like to
feel the wind in their bowhair, so to speak. They favor fast bowstrokes, and
full ones, but well in near the bridge; the sound is airy and vibrant, yet with
a good, focused core to it. They were able to give the impression of continuous
intensity over the entire span, while leaving themselves dynamic space to pace
the thing. The texture was so transparent, and the timbres so pleasing, that for
once the passage didn't sound like a string quartet vainly straining to suggest
a hundred massed players. But neither did it sound deliberately domesticated or
restrained. It was a triumph of canny voicing, something on the order of playing
a Schumann symphony in such a way as to make the orchestration seem masterly.
The Mandelrings had, too, a winning way with small-scale inflection. I liked the
wry rhythmic detailing of the Scherzo, which hesitated and then rushed forward
engagingly. The finale bustled in a genial way, and the bowing was crisp and
light without seeming insubstantial. The austere, harmonically astringent
third-movement dirge, written in memory of the violinist Ferdinand Laub, is
suffused with suggestions of Orthodox liturgical music, Paring down their
vibrato, the Mandelrings achieved a fierce focus. I don't think I've heard
any ensemble make a more consistent success of the work. Beethoven's third
“Razumovsky” quartet (Op. 59/3) got a “big” but not an oversize performance. Its
most memorable moments were details of voicing or of timing, things like the
perfectly matched violins in thirds in the first movement (Nanette Schmidt
showed herself an unusually powerful second violinist throughout), or the
insouciant freedom with which Sebastian Schmidt bent his cadenza-like solos. The
gleaming sound, the shrewd shaping, and the flawless balance carried the day. If
the quartet escaped the hall without an encore, it wasn't for want of prompting
from a noisily enthusiastic audience.” SF Classical Voice - March 4, 2008
“In this second volume of Shostakovich’s
quartets, the Mandelring Quartet makes it abundantly clear that it is building
one of the outstanding cycles in today’s catalogue. "Here we have a brilliant
display of outgoing virtuosity; one feels that every detail of the score has
been thoughtfully considered. Technically it is magnificent playing and with
intonation of unquestionable accuracy: the razor-sharp chords that open the
third movement of the Third Quartet and the biting pungency of the violins as
they cut into the sardonic mood of its first Scherzo are riveting. Dynamic
contrasts that breathe life into the piece’s bittersweet opening movement are
perfectly realised, and the amount of detail revealed throughout is remarkable.”
The Strad - August 2007
“This will certainly be remembered as one
of the highlights of this year’s festival [Ottawa Chamber Music Festival].”
The Ottawa Citizen – August 2006
“Shostakovich String Quartets no. 1 in C
major op. 49, no. 2 in A major op. 68 and no. 4 in D major op. 83. Mandelring
Quartet …the many pianissimo passages are taken at a whisper. The playing is
faultless throughout, and the extremely clear and cleanly defined recorded sound
forms part of the performance. I look forward with anticipation to the remaining
releases.”
The Strad – May 2006
“The Shostakovich string quartets are
without a doubt one of the most important acquisitions of the 20th
Century and an emotional testimony of the horrible sufferings of the composer,
which he had to endure during the frightful time of oppression. The new disc by
the Mandelring Quartet distinguishes itself by superb transparency. Their
performances attain dimensions of completeness and playful perfection, and if
their future recordings will remain on the same level, the Mandelring Quartet
will have made the unique integral of the Shostakovich Quartets in the 21st
Century.”
Pizzicato – April 2006
“There is a lot to like about this group,
starting with a taut, throaty tone, a fluid approach to color and an impeccable
sense of style.”
New York Times – November 2005
“The Mandelring Quartet belongs to some of
the best string quartets on the international scene today.”
Klassik – 2005
“The Mandelring Quartet combines the
LaSalle Quartet’s intellectual vigor with the Amadeus’ unbridled passion to
provide the best of both worlds.” (Brahms Quartet 51/1)
The Strad – February 2005
“The Mandelring Quartet is currently one of
the world’s best string quartets.”
Manuel Stangorra – January 2004
“The quartet performed quartets by
Beethoven, opus 95 and Ligeti’s ‘Metamorphoses Nocturnes’ – both were simply
sensational!”
Frankfurter Allgemeine – July 20, 2004