Gringolts Quartet

Ilya Gringolts, violin
Anahit Kurtikyan, violin
Silvia Simionescu, viola
Claudius Herrmann, violoncello

There’s a wealth of characterisation within this richly unified, bronze-dark ensemble. A deep-dug, chunky tone, often quite rugged, is offset by moments of intense sweetness, as well as great delicacy and refinement. Besides being beautifully balanced and transparent, some of the softest passages acquire an ‘innigkeit’ (introspection) that can make you hold your breath. BBC Music Magazine, Jessica Duchen, July 2024 

A lively, intense dialogue between eras - that is a fundamental focus for Ilya Gringolts, one of the outstanding violinists of his generation and primarius of the Gringolts Quartet. Founded in 2008, the string quartet produces a radiant ensemble sound that merges into a seamless unity while remaining highly nuanced: dense and warm, delivering a deeply expressive impact, yet mercurial, dynamic, transparent, and clear in every detail. The quartet's interpretations demonstrate a profound musical maturity and technical mastery - one that never seeks the spotlight for its own sake, but remains invariably dedicated to the music itself.

The Zürich-based, internationally assembled ensemble with violinist Ilya Gringolts from Russia, violinist Anahit Kurtikyan from Armenia, violist Silvia Simionescu from Romania, and cellist Claudius Herrmann from Germany, has established a distinguished reputation in the world’s most prestigious concert venues and major festivals. Long before the quartet’s official formation, the four musicians were already bonded by close friendship and countless chambermusic collaborations; notably, Claudius Herrmann and Anahit Kurtikyan were former members of the renowned Amati Quartet

In recent seasons, the quartet has appeared at major festivals including Salzburg, Lucerne, Verbier, Gstaad, Edinburgh, and the Settimane Musicali Ascona. Furthermore, the ensemble performs regularly in the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, London's Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, Stockholm’s Konserthuset, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, L’Auditori Barcelona, the Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao, LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, and the Società dei Concerti in Milan.

Highlights of the current season include appearances at the Salzburg Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival. To mark the centenary of György Kurtág’s birth, the quartet will combine works by the Hungarian composer with Schubert’s String Quartet in G major. The ensemble will also celebrate a premiere at the Haydneum Esterháza Festival, performing Haydn string quartets on historical gut strings at Esterházy Palace in Fertőd, Hungary. Furthermore, a new artistic partnership begins with cellist Clemens Hagen, with whom the quartet will perform Schubert’s String Quintet - also on gut strings - in Alicante, Madrid, and Bilbao, among other venues. Prior to this, the Gringolts Quartet will showcase its acclaimed Schoenberg expertise at Theater Basel and the Mizmorim Festival, presenting the composer’s complete string quartets across three concerts.

From the very beginning, the Gringolts Quartet has drawn attention with its exquisite recordings. Their first major award came in 2012, when they received an ECHO Klassik for the premiere recording of Walter Braunfels’ quintets with cellist David Geringas. In 2016, their album of Glazunov and Taneyev quintets with cellist Christian Poltéra won a Diapason d’Or. Their 2017 release on the BIS label - featuring octets by Mendelssohn and Enescu, recorded with the Meta4 quartet - was awarded the Quarterly Critics’ Choice by the German Record Critics. Also in 2017, BIS released their recording of Schoenberg’s String Quartets Nos. 2 and 4, which received excellent reviews as a reference recording. Their 2022 album with Schoenberg’s Quartets Nos. 1 and 3 won another Diapason d’Or. In 2024, BIS released their recording of the Brahms quintets with violist Lilli Maijala, which was also very well received. In 2026, two new albums played on gut strings will be released on the Arcana/Outhere label: the complete Mozart string quintets and two Dvořák string quartets

The quartet regularly collaborates with renowned artists such as Jörg Widmann, Andreas Ottensamer, Malin Hatelius, James Boyd, Christian Poltéra, Katia Skanavi, and Alexander Lonquich. Their collaboration with the legendary American pianist Leon Fleisher (1928–2022) had a lasting impact on the ensemble. Contemporary music is just as important to the four musicians as the classical repertoire; their programs frequently include works by Heinz Holliger, Valentyn Silvestrov, György Kurtág, Marc-André Dalbavie, Jörg Widmann, and Lotta Wennäkoski.

All members of the Gringolts Quartet play on rare Italian instruments: Ilya Gringolts plays a Guarneri “del Gesù” (1743), Anahit Kurtikyan a violin by Camillo Camilli (Mantua, 1733), Silvia Simionescu a viola by Jacobus Januarius (Cremona, 1660), and Claudius Herrmann a Maggini cello (Brescia, 1600). Notably, this cello was once owned by Prince Galitzin, a great admirer of Beethoven who commissioned the composer’s late string quartets and had them performed for the very first time.

2026/27 season

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.