ABOUT
Berlin Staatskapelle String Quartet
The four string section leaders of the Berlin Staatskapelle achieve a remarkable fusion of the great orchestral tradition and the intimate world of chamber music. Violinists Wolfram Brandl and Krzysztof Specjal, violist Yulia Deyneka, and cellist Claudius Popp first performed together as a quartet in 2017, presenting a series of concerts with the complete Schubert quartets in Berlin’s new Pierre Boulez Saal. The idea to form a permanent string quartet came the Staatskapelle’s musical director Daniel Barenboim.
The group’s chamber music partners have included Frans Helmerson, Christiane Karg, Jörg Widmann, Mojca Erdmann, and Elisabeth Leonskaja, with whom they will appear in the current season at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg. In 2022 the quartet will also play for the first time in London’s Wigmore Hall. With Daniel Barenboim, they appeared in one of the popular concert broadcasts of radio station WQXR in New York. During the Covid lockdown in 2020, Barenboim and the quartet also performed Schubert’s Piano Quintet as part of Deutsche Grammophon’s “Moment Musical” streaming series.
The group’s repertoire includes music in a broad range of styles, including contemporary works. The four musicians have performed on many of the world’s most famous stages, such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Theatre Champs Élysée in Paris, and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid. Building on their familiarity with the world of opera, the quartet has explored the chamber music of Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and Puccini, composers known primarily for their operas and symphonic works. In the current season, the group will present a series of programs devoted to the music of Arnold Schoenberg, as well as a project with actor Udo Samel examining the life of Czech composer Leoš Janáček.
Berlin Staatskapelle String Quartet
The four string section leaders of the Berlin Staatskapelle achieve a remarkable fusion of the great orchestral tradition and the intimate world of chamber music. Violinists Wolfram Brandl and Krzysztof Specjal, violist Yulia Deyneka, and cellist Claudius Popp first performed together as a quartet in 2017, presenting a series of concerts with the complete Schubert quartets in Berlin’s new Pierre Boulez Saal. The idea to form a permanent string quartet came the Staatskapelle’s musical director Daniel Barenboim.
The group’s chamber music partners have included Frans Helmerson, Christiane Karg, Jörg Widmann, Mojca Erdmann, and Elisabeth Leonskaja, with whom they will appear in the current season at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg. In 2022 the quartet will also play for the first time in London’s Wigmore Hall. With Daniel Barenboim, they appeared in one of the popular concert broadcasts of radio station WQXR in New York. During the Covid lockdown in 2020, Barenboim and the quartet also performed Schubert’s Piano Quintet as part of Deutsche Grammophon’s “Moment Musical” streaming series.
The group’s repertoire includes music in a broad range of styles, including contemporary works. The four musicians have performed on many of the world’s most famous stages, such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Theatre Champs Élysée in Paris, and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid. Building on their familiarity with the world of opera, the quartet has explored the chamber music of Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and Puccini, composers known primarily for their operas and symphonic works. In the current season, the group will present a series of programs devoted to the music of Arnold Schoenberg, as well as a project with actor Udo Samel examining the life of Czech composer Leoš Janáček.
