Diogenes Quartett – String Quartets No 1 & 3 by Friedrich Gernsheim
“It was definitely a stroke of luck which brought these four musicians together into an ensemble” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
It’s thanks to this stroke of luck that the Diogenes Quartet is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year! Since its founding in 1998 in Munich four individualists have performed a wide range of the extensive repertoire for string quartet. The quartet’s individual style reflects the influences of collaborating with outstanding pedagogues and ensembles such as the Amadeus Quartet and La Salle Quartet.
The four musicians embarked on an international career early on. They have played at festivals including the Mozartfest Würzburg, Samos Young Artists Festival and the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier. This year they are going to make a concert tour to Mexico and Spain, among other things. Over the years, many of the quartet’s concerts have been recorded, which is confirmed by its extensive discography. Particularly noteworthy is a recording of the complete Schubert string quartets on the Brilliant Classics Label in 2017, which was highly praised by critics.
In April 2019 the recording of the 1st and 3rd String Quartets (op. 25 c-Minor and op. 51 F-Major) of Brahms’s contemporary Friedrich Gernsheim has been released on the cpo label. On 14.5.2019 the ensemble presents the CD in a release concert at the Max-Joseph-Saal in Munich.
The quartet interests are very multifaceted. New concert forms such as the crossover programme with violinist Max Grosch’s jazz quartet play an equally valid role as a strong emphasis on musical education. For several years the four musicians have given concerts specially for children, they organise workshop concerts at schools and they offer chamber music workshops for young ensembles. Since 2015 the quartet has been an ambassador for SOS-Children’s Villages.
The quartet owes its name to a long-standing friendship with the late Rudolph C. Bettschart, co-owner of the Swiss publishing house Diogenes, who died in 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jrnY2KJEUA
