Rubin Quartet
Rubin Quartet ~ String Quartet
Over the years, the Rubin Quartet, founded in 1992 and named after the ruby, has gained a unique reputation among string quartets. Since its foundation, the quartet has been characterized by a very wide repertoire and vivid performances. In its first year, the Rubin Quartet won first prize at the Bubenreuth/Erlangen international string quartet competition, in 1997, the prize for best Mozart performance in Evian, and in 2000, first prize at the "R. Hartung Stiftung" international string quartet competition. The Rubin Quartet began performing at the Amsterdam Concertgebow in 1995. Since then, they have given regular performances there, with Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake among others. The quartet performs at Europe's leading concert venues and at a number of prestigious festivals, such as Luberon string quartet festival, Fréjus, Santander, Valladolid, Milan, Bremen Musikfest, Rheingau-Musikfestival, Schwetzinger Festspiele and the "Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo". In 1998, the quartet performed at the Dortmund "Streichquartett-Event". In 2000/2001 they were invited to perform at the Oslo Chamber Music Festival with the pianist Andrej Gavrilov. In 2002, the Rubin Quartet embarked on a long-term association with the Scène nationale in Poitiers, France. They performed Bela Bartók's six string quartets there in 2002/2003, building up from public rehearsals to master classes, performances and concerts. Composers such as Carola Bauckholt, Caspar Johannes Walter, Franz Olbrisch and Reinhard Febel regularly write works for the quartet, which premieres them at Festivals, such as the "Tage für zeitgenössische Kammermusik" in Witten, Wien Modern, the "Rheinisches Musikfest" and Musique-Action Vand'oeuvre-lès-Nancy. The Rubin Quartet's close association with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Györgi Kurtág, Silvia Fómina and Sofia Gubaïdulina has provided the quartet with tremendous artistic impetus, just as the encounter with Amadeus Quartet, Raphael Hillyer and Jörg Wolfgang Jahn.
