The Leipzig String Quartet The Leipzig String Quartet, Founded in 1988, is now widely acclaimed as one of the most exciting string quartets on the international chamber music scene: The Neue Züricher Zeitung has described the ensemble as "one of the towering and most versatile quartets of our time" and in 2002 The New York Times wrote "if there is a Leipzig sound, this is it!" Three of its members were first chairs in the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig. After studies with Gerhard Bosse, the Amadeus quartet, Hatto Beyerle and Walter Levin, the quartet went on to win numerous prizes and awards, such as the 1991 International ARD Munich competition, and the Busch and Siemens prizes.
Today, the Leipzig String Quartet performs extensively throughout Europe, in Israel, Africa, Central and South America, Australia, Japan and Asia, including appearances at many of the major festivals. The quartet's already large repertoire consists of almost 300 works by approximately 100 composers and continues to grow. The quartet's almost 70 recordings, spanning from Mozart to Cage and including the complete works of Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Schubert and the complete Second Viennese School have been met with international critical acclaim.
Formed in 1984 by four prize-winning graduates of the Conservatoire National Superieur de Paris, the Parisii Quartet won early acclaim with its triumphs at three major international competitions: Banff (1986), Munich (1987), and Evian (1987). Invitations followed from the major concert halls and festivals of Europe, and the Parisii has since toured regularly throughout Europe and the United States. Much in demand in Paris, the Parisii performed the entire Haydn cycle at the Opéra Bastille, performed the Beethoven cycle at the Salle Gaveau, and has appeared frequently at the Musée d'Orsay.
The Quartet’s North American tours have included appearances in Washington, New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, New Orleans, Miami, San Diego, and Los Angeles. New York audiences were recently treated to an all-French program at Lincoln Center and a German program at the Morgan Library. The Parisii has toured East Asia a number of times, with concerts in Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo, and has also made several tours of South America.
Noted for its performances of distinctive and unusual repertoire of the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, the Parisii has distinguished itself with award-winning recordings of intriguing works by such French composers as Menu, Pierné, Tailleferre, and Reynaldo Hahn, as well as the complete works for string quartet by Anton Webern. The Parisii has recently recorded the sixteen string quartets of Milhaud, which won the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles-Cros, and made the first-ever recording of Le livre pour quatuor, by Pierre Boulez.
