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Kathrin Feldmann-Uhlkf@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594-241
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Outstanding reviews for the Armida Quartet's recording of works by Max Reger and Johanna Senfter.
In the first edition of our new kwmm podcast series "Encore," violinist Johanna Staemmler chats about the Armida Quartet's complete Mozart recordings while we listen to the interpretations together (in German).
Congratulations to the Armida Quartet: the final CD of the complete Mozart recordings is currently receiving critical acclaim, and the previously released Volume 4 even receives an Opus Klassik award.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String quartet in G minor KV 387
György Kurtág, 12 Microludes Op. 13
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No 2, Op. 18
Armida Quartett
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No 3, Op. 18
Robert Schumann, String quartet, Op. 41 No. 3 in A major
Franz Schubert, Winterreise Op. 89, D. 911
György Kurtág, Microludes op. 13
Benjamin Appl, baritone
Martin Funda, violin Johanna Staemmler, violin Teresa Schwamm-Biskamp, viola Peter-Philipp Staemmler, violoncello
The Armida Quartet confirmed their reputation as soulful perfectionists with a special ensemble chemistry in the sold-out Mozart Hall at the palace. The fact that the winners of the 2012 ARD Music Competition have developed a pronounced preference and sensitivity for Viennese classical music seems all the more beautiful and fitting in view of their wonderfully balanced and lucid playing. (...) Just how well the Armida Quartet's precision work, trained in the classical repertoire, works, especially in emotionally charged confessional music, was exemplified in Leos Janácek's late autobiographical work ‘Intimate Letters’. More Janácek intensity is hard to come by, even from the best Czech colleagues. At the end of the concert, the Armida Quartet's irresistibly elegant and vital ‘Dissonance Quartet’ whetted the appetite for their already award-winning Mozart recording.Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, Klaus Roß, 30/04/2024
The Armida Quartet is one of the leading German string quartets of the younger generation. Founded in Berlin in 2006, the award-winning quartet has been playing in the same formation ever since and has developed a distinktive ensemble sound, a synergetic interaction on a common breath: clear and transparent, at the same time intense and powerfully flowing with extremely precise timing. The Armida Quartet's musical expertise, expressiveness and energy on stage are unique - they know how to ignite a spark in the audience.
Since their spectacular success at the 2012 ARD International Music Competition, where the quartet was awarded first prize, the audience prize and six other special prizes, the ensemble has embarked on a unique career. After concerts and radio recordings as BBC New Generation Artists (2014-16) and subsequently as ECHO Rising Stars (2016/17), the musicians have made a name for themselves in the most famous chamber music halls in Europe, Asia and the USA. In addition to appearances at major European festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, the Beethovenfest Bonn and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the quartet has enjoyed great success at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie and London's Wigmore Hall, among others.
Highlights of the 2024/25 season include the prizewinners' concerts at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, two concerts at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, performances with Alexander Melnikov at the invitation of the Kronberg Academy Foundation, at the Schubertiade Hohenems, in Madrid at the invitation of the renowned Círculo de Bellas Artes, at the Prinzregententheater in Munich and at a whole series of other concerts with the renowned clarinettist Sabine Meyer.
Other artistic partners of the quartet include musicians such as Maximilian Hornung, Martin Helmchen, Julian Steckel, Benjamin Appl, Kit Armstrong, Nils Mönkemeyer and Kilian Herold. There is a special connection to the Serbian composer Marko Nikodijević, whose first and second string quartets were premiered by the Armida Quartet. They studied with former members of the Artemis Quartet and Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet) and owe important impulses to Reinhard Goebel, Alfred Brendel, Marek Janowski and Tabea Zimmermann.
The Armida Quartet has placed a special focus on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Since 2016, the musicians have been collaborating with G. Henle Verlag, for whom they acted as musical advisors for a new edition of all of Mozart's quartets. The complete recording for CAvi, which was released at the same time, received rave reviews, with the quartet setting new standards for Mozart's chamber music (NDR Kultur) and leading the way for Mozart interpretation in the 21st century (Klassik Heute). The fourth album of the complete recording of Mozart's string quartets, which has been available in five volumes since 2023, was awarded the Opus Klassik.
The ensemble gives masterclasses in Germany and abroad and is involved in social and educational projects. The issues of sustainability and climate protection are particularly important to the quartet: the Armida Quartet was the first chamber music ensemble to be appointed ambassador of the ‘Orchestra of Change’ association, a climate and nature conservation initiative by members of numerous professional orchestras.
In addition to the complete recording of Mozart's string quartets, the quartet's discography includes their debut CD with works by Bartók, Ligeti and Kurtág, released by CAvi in 2013, which immediately made it onto the best list of the German Record Prize. A recording with works by Beethoven and Shostakovich was also released by CAvi in 2016, followed by Fuga Magna with works by Scarlatti, Bach, Goldberg, Mozart and Beethoven in 2017. The quartet has also contributed to various compilations of contemporary works by Samy Moussa, Ursula Mamlok, Birke J. Bertelsmeier and Milica Djordjević, among others.With two recordings in 2023, both also released by CAvi, the quartet shows its late Romantic side: clarinet quintets by Max Reger and his pupil Johanna Senfter with Kilian Herold, frequent guest solo clarinettist with the Berliner Philharmoniker, as well as piano quintets by César Franck and Frank Martin with pianist Martin Klett. Both recordings have been acclaimed by the press, and the Reger-Senfter recording was longlisted by the German Record Critics.
The choice of the ensemble's name emphasises its passion for quartet playing: Armida refers to an opera by Joseph Haydn, the “father of the string quartet”.
2024/25 season
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions, or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.
Berlin, Berlin P. Vachon: String Quartet, Op. 11 P. Hindemith: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22 U. Mamlok: String Quartet No. 1F. Hensel: String Quartet in E flat major
Shostakovich B. Britten: Three Divertimenti for string quartet D. Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 14 F-sharp major, Op. 142 I. Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet D. Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 1171824F. Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor D 810 „Death and the Maiden“L. v. Beethoven: String Quartet No. Nr. 12 E flat Major, Op. 127
An die ferne Geliebtewith Benjamin Appl, baritoneL. v. Beethoven: An die Ferne Geliebte (arr. for string quartet)R. Schumann: Quartet No. 3 in A MajorR. Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 48 (arr. for string quartet)Winterreisewith Benjamin Appl, baritoneF. Schubert: Winterreise (arr. for string quartet), combined withG. Kurtág: 12 Microludes, Op.13
Mary Stuartwith Lotte Betts-Dean, mezzo sopranoR. Schumann: Three Poems of Queen Mary Stuart, Op.135 (arranged by Brett Dean)L. Janacek: String Quartet No. 2 Intimate LettersW. Byrd: Consort Music (arranged / adapted where necessary)Brett Dean: Madame ma bonne soeur (french text of Mary Stuart 1542 - 1587)for string quartet and mezzo (UK/German premieres Autumn 2021)
"The opening matinee of the Schwetzingen SWR Festival was deservedly given the honour of a live broadcast. The Armida Quartet confirmed their reputation as soulful perfectionists with a special ensemble chemistry in the sold-out Mozart Hall. The fact that the winners of the 2012 ARD Music Competition have developed a pronounced fondness and sensitivity for Viennese classical music seems all the more beautiful and fitting in view of their wonderfully balanced and lucid playing. (...) Leos Janácek's autobiographical late work ‘Intimate Letters’ was then a good example of how well the Armida Quartet's precision work functions, especially in emotionally charged confessional music. Anyone who really wanted to hear all the details of this passionately eloquent four-movement work, without any tonal fuzziness, really got their money's worth here. More Janácek intensity is hard to come by, even from the best Czech colleagues. At the end of the concert, the Armida Quartet's irresistibly elegant and vital ‘Dissonance Quartet’ whetted the appetite for their already award-winning Mozart recording.’
Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, Klaus Roß, 30 April 2024
"All four works of a cleverly selected programme vibrate with concentration, intensity, emotion and beauty, in which the beginnings of the compositions in particular are an event in themselves, which the quartet knows how to develop and process in a contrasting and breathtaking way."
Mannheimer Morgen, Susanne Kaulich, April 2024
"The interpretational bar for this absolutely masterful late work is dizzyingly high. One would therefore think that it could hardly be better, more intense and more intimate. But the Armida Quartet and Kilian Herold (...) manage the miracle of raising the bar even higher. Every little detail really "speaks" here. The musicians make the quasi-self-referential unity of the work, in which every note corresponds with every other, comprehensible in such a delightful way that it takes your breath away. (...) Kilian Herold and the Armida Quartet provide goosebump moments here."
Fono Forum, Burkhard Schäfer - on the CD "Max Reger & Johanna Senfter: Clarinet Quintets" (CAvi), November 2023
"An excellent interpretation, which brings out the variety of tones in this music with marvellous curves of movement and an intense penetration of every motif."
pizzicato, Remy Franck - on the CD "Max Reger & Johanna Senfter: Clarinet Quintets" (CAvi), November 2023
"For the performances, I have nothing but praise, especially over the range of dynamics that truly extends from ppp to fff, taking us from delicate lyricism to overwhelming majesty. The balance between the musicians is good throughout, and the virtuosity under perfect control."
BBC Music Magazine, Roger Nichols - on the CD "Franck & Martin Piano Quintets", July 2023
“Armida Quartet is at the top of its game, and has retained a freshness of approach that befits the youthful Mozart. With crisp articulation and a sophisticated use of vibrato, the players come close to an ideal synthesis of period practice and modern instrumental set-up. Thanks to the Armida’s thoughtful phrasing and transparent playing, the early quartets come across as more than merely promising. Their far from insignificant inner parts are discreetly brought out, and each movement’s individual atmosphere is unerringly caught.”
The Strad, Carlos María Solare, May 2022
“Once again, the Armida are fine guides to the less familiar early works. … The Armida respond to the many moods to be found within (this music), whether it be robust playfulness (K157’s first movement), beauty (K159’s expansive opening Andante), pulsating drive (the same work’s G minor Allegro) or impishness (K160’s closing Presto). The recorded sound is generous and enveloping, the attack unanimous and the tone full-bodied, with judicious and sparing vibrato adding colour. … The Armida are road-testing the new Urtext edition of these works, and accordingly they are painstakingly faithful to each inflection and marking. This might in other hands lead to playing that is clinical and fussy, but the confidence and accuracy they bring to their performances make this another enticing instalment in their continuing quartet cycle.”
Gramophone, David, Threasher, March 202
“Armida’s sparkling corporate intonation and textural litheness prove especially beguiling. They also judge immaculately the fine line that exists between over-inflating Mozart’s early music and making it sound lightweight. This is partly a question of precision balancing between the various lines, so that it feels as though the music is virtually inventing itself as it goes along. … Yet it is the Olympian musical resonances of the Dissonance Quartet K465 that set the seal on this deeply immersive set of performances. Here the Armida’s linear democratising [...] pays special dividends, as the ear is gently guided by the music’s shifting sonorities. There was a time when listening to Mozart‘s quartets it was difficult to avoid a sense of Dresden china clinking gently in the background – not any longer!”
BBC Music Magazine, March 2022
"With fine nuances in sound, dynamics, and articulation, the ensemble enlivens the music and its colors. ... The members of the Armida Quartet play all of this with that mixture of care and freshness that is only possible through intensive study of the works. One senses that the Mozart style has become second nature to them ... with the contrast of gently swaying melancholy in the Andante and an irresistible drive in the concluding Presto of K. 157, the recording goes a step beyond the energy level of the great Hagen recording from the 1980s and in turn sets new standards."
Fono Forum, Marcus Stäbler, March 2022 - on the CD "Mozart String Quartets" Vol. 4
"The latest instalment in the Armida’s ongoing Mozart quartet series is a triumph, both musically and technically. Encapsulating the best of all worlds, the Armida play with the exquisite nuancing of the finest oldschool outfits, yet with a take-nothing-for-granted interpretative inquisitiveness that takes historically informed practice to a whole new level."
BBC Classical Music Magazine, Julian Haylock, March 2021 - on the CD "Mozart String Quartets" Vol. 3
"A musically enchanting technically exemplary interpretation of six Mozart quartets from different creative periods. Exactly how Mozart should sound in the 21st Century!"
klassik-heute, Thomas Baack, Januar 2021 - on the CD "Mozart String Quartets" Vol. 3
"Never before has the subtlety of Mozart’s tonal language struck me in this way; never before have I had such a colourful and surprisingly nuanced encounter with Mozart’s Quartettsatz. Everything is interpreted by this quartet so freshly and with such a natural effortlessness in this nimble, pithy, focussed rendition which thrills throughout that it almost seems as though Johanna Staemmler and Martin Funda (Violins), Teresa Schwamm (Viola) and Peter Philipp Staemmler (Violoncello) were weaned on Mozart. Mozart interpretation and quartet playing at its finest hour."
klassik-heute, Christof Jetzschke, November 2019 - on the CD "Mozart String Quartets" Vol. 2
"Throughout the programme, the Armida performed with the excellent reputation that precedes them with an interpretation close to perfection and with a contrasted reading from start to finish - their pianissimi takes ones breath away."
Diario ABC, Pep Gorgori, November 2019
And what a climactic performance this Beethoven is; hardly tamed in its rawness, its barely tonal confusion of voices carrying a slender, Classical beauty of thought which has the effect of linking it right back to everything that has gone before. It´s wonderful stuff. Truly one to both savour and admire.“
Gramophone, Charlotte Gardner, October 2018 - on the CD "Fuga Magna"
MOZART String Quartets complete
MOZART Vol. 5
Mozart: String Quartet G Major K. 387
Beethoven: Große Fuge, O 133 B Major
Mozart: String Quartet No. 22 in B Major K. 589
Mozart: String Quartets Vol. 2 (KV 80, 458 und 499)
Armida Quartett: Fuga Magna (Mai 2017)
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 10 A flat major
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Mugam-Sayagi
Marko Nikodijević: Tiefenrausch
Armida Quartett, Kilian Herold
CAvi, DDD, 2023, 4260085535330
Armida Quartett, Martin Klett
CAvi, DDD, 2022, 4260085535279
Armida QuartettCAvi, 2023, 4260085535231
Armida QuartetCavi, 2022, 4260085534968
Armida QuartetCavi, 2021, 4260085532056
Armida QuartettCAvi, 2020, 4260085530328
Armida QuartettCAvi, 2019, 4260085534449
Armida Quartett, Raphael Alpermann (Cembalo)CAvi, 2017, 4260085533800
Armida Quartett, Ensemble Recherche, Symphonieorchesterdes Bayerischen Rundfunks, Peter RundelCOL, 2017, 40417
Armida Quartett, Ensemble ModernCOL, 2016, 40414
Armida QuartettCAvi, 2016, 4260085533688
Armida QuartettCAvi, 2015, 4260085533183
Armida Quartett, Ewa Kupiec (Piano)Randall Meyers, 2015
Armida QuartettCAvi, 2013, 4260085532988
Armida Quartett, Spectrum Concerts BerlinNaxos, 2013, 5434161
Armida Quartett, Emanuele Torquati, Radio SymphonieorchesterWien, Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, Kent NaganoCOL, 2013, 6318112