Lipkind Quartet: New Worlds Lipkind Quartet

• String Quartet No.12 in F (American), Op.96
• 1 I. Allegro ma non troppo 10:37
• 2 II. Lento 08:48
• 3 III. Molto vivace 04:03
• 4 IV. Finale - Vivace ma non troppo 05:59
• Night, for string quartet
• 5 Night 05:41
• String Quartet in B, Op.11 (includes basis for Adagio for Strings)
• 6 I. Molto allegro e appassionato 09:19
• 7 II. Molto adagio 12:09
• 8 III. Molto allegro 02:34
• We Just Wanna Take Your Train, string quartet
• 9 We Just Wanna Take Your Train 03:46
• Total Runtime 01:02:56

Info for Lipkind Quartet: New Worlds

Traditionally, most string quartets have been composed of players from a single country or, in many cases, players who have spent their formative years studying at the same conservatory. The Lipkind Quartet, by contrast, is a truly multinational ensemble. It is composed of violinists Artiom Shishkov (Belarus), Yusuke Hayashi (Japan), violist Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (America and Austria), and cellist Gavriel Lipkind (Germany and Israel).

The members of the Lipkind Quartet generate one new program in each calendar year and perform it along with previously produced programs. Thanks to this working model, each program turns into a kind of year-long intensive case study of a specific stylistic and technical framework, the results of which are taken on stage in the following year and finally recorded on the Lipkind Productions label (in collaboration with Naxos of America and King International of Japan.) An additional feature of their live performances is the marvelous acoustic experience generated by the unusual seating arrangement of the players and the fact that the two violinists alternate the leading part in each work.

“... not only the reasons which brought musicians to play in a quartet have changed, also the science of psycho-acoustics and instrumental knowledge haveevolved. Finally, being a musician, working as a musician, and collaborating with other musicians in a chamber group on a regular basis in the 21st century, are light-years away from the realities of the past. The traditional ways of working in a quartet, which are based on these past realities, require a fundamental review and a radical re-thinking in order to fit the way quartets can live and sound today.' (Gavriel Lipkind)

Yusuke Hayashi, violin
Artiom Shishkov, violin
Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg, viola
Gavriel Lipkind, cello

Founded by cellist Gavriel Lipkind, this unusual string quartet has come to stand apart because of the radical and deep thought it invests in every stage of its work; starting with social and inter-personal aspects of working in a quartet and ending with the finest subtleties of an inspired bow stroke. Quartet-playing as a musical form goes back as far as the late Baroque period. While the different practices of working within a quartet are the result of a long evolution over many decades, many of these practices and traditions compromise the quality of a quartet’s output. Modern quartets follow traditional models believing that these cannot be further optimised.

The Lipkind Quartet has been looking for new ways to improve and optimise the interpretative process, administrative work-flow, social structure and therefore performance quality of this musical form, leading to the Lipkind Quartet’s distinctive, intrinsically scientific and yet individualistic approach to working and performing within a quartet.

The main idea behind the Lipkind Quartet’s motivation is nourished by four people who follow a clear structure in order to uncompromisingly produce creative work over many years. The rehearsal process is organised and guided by Gavriel Lipkind. As noted by a fellow musician: “…the ability of these four dominant players to go deeper into the musical tissue, while fully avoiding social clashes, must be the main reason for a recognisably unique sound, captivating in its clarity of musical thought as well as its instrumental power and flair.” After many years of preparation, spending as much time conceptualising and analysing the scores as they do playing together, the Lipkind Quartet will finally embark upon its first concert season in 2008-09. Along with over 20 concert performances, the Lipkind Quartet will take part at the Gaia Festival (Thun, Switzerland), the Zeist Festival (the Netherlands), special events in Germany, Israel, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and radio productions and performances in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The 2010-11 season sees the Lipkind Quartet undertaking tours of Central Europe, Norway, and debuting in the USA, Japan and Russia. In December 2009, a recording production will take place.

This album contains no booklet.