The Amsterdam String Quartet
The unparalleled expressive scope of four stringed instruments is The Amsterdam String Quartet's starting point in presenting some of todays most exciting programmes. Their repertoire is a true musical kaleidoscope spanning five centuries, reaching from the intellectual abstraction of English consort repertoire to the rawness of Stravinsky, from the Viennese masterpieces of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to Webern, from 17th century dance music to newly commissioned works.
The Amsterdam String Quartet particularly enjoys giving concerts "in the round" when circumstances allow, giving their audience the opportunity to get up close and be drawn into the centre of the chamber music experience. The quartet offer informal pre-concert sessions, highlighting important themes and connections in the programmes, and encouraging the audience to share in a gripping and exhilarating journey of musical discovery.
"The ASQ’s interpretations are renowned for their tight ensemble playing, their elegance and their careful attention to the tonal colour nuances." Volkskrant [NL] September 2009
"finesse combined with fire on historical instruments"
Volkskrant, 2006"... what gorgeous playing! ... [the quartet members] play fantastically together and form a tightly-knit ensemble
... All of Haydn's challenges sound superiorly simple.
The result is a delight for the ear... " Luister, April 2009"Haydn would surely have been amused ...
again a performance of intelligence and strength"
International Record Review [USA] March 2009
The ASQ enjoys a busy international concert schedule and presented its own concert series in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Vredenburg Utrecht from 2003 to 2009. They have collaborated with Gary Cooper, Ronald Brautigam, Alexei Lubimov, Melvyn Tan, Teunis van der Zwart and Alexis Kossenko. Recent successes include concerts at Vestfold Festspillene (Norway), Ryedale Festival and an appearance at the prestigious Buxton Festival as well as their London debut (October 2009), and an education project at Birmingham Conservatoire in collaboration with Professor Simon Keefe. Future plans include concert tours in Sweden alongside their performances in the Netherlands, and further exploratory work into playing techniques and style with the eminent scholar/performer Professor Clive Brown.
The quartet's second Haydn CD was released in January 2009 on Channel Classics and was immediately presented as CD of the week by national Dutch radio and awarded at '10', the highest accolade, in the Dutch national classical music magazine, Luister. Their debut Haydn CD was released in Spring 2007 and was included in the top ten CD's of the Month by Luister.