For almost 20 years the Rasumowksy Quartet stands for thrilling concert experiences. With unbroken passion and an individual sound, the ensemble dedicates itself to the great masterpieces, but also surprises with discoveries, as most recently with the first recording of the string quartets of the Swiss Romantic Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich.
The Rasumowsky Quartet feels connected in several ways with its namesake Prince Andrej Kyrillowitsch Rasumowsky, the Russian ambassador in Vienna, friend of Beethoven and patron of the string quartet. It has its roots in the Russian string school and considers the quartets of Viennese classical music, especially in historically informed performance style, as its core repertoire. In addition, the ensemble focuses on Russian quartet literature, on new discoveries, contemporary Swiss music and cross-disciplinary programs.
International attention was given to the Rasumowsky Quartet, which is now based in Bern, with the complete recording of all fifteen string quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2006. Maxim Shostakovich, himself a pianist and conductor of one of the most important interpreters of his father’s works, counts the recording “the best recordings of my dad’s music ever”. The magazine Der Spiegel spoke of “the amazing tempi and the captivating interplay” of a “jubilee event”.