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About us

Rimsky-Korsakov String Quartet “...the richness of the music they play did not need any explanation to be understood...” – Celloherbst am Hellweg, Unna, 2010

“....the powerful romantic sound and the inspired detailed work of the musicians made listening a thrilling experience....” –Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung 2010, Heidelberg

The Rimsky-Korsakov String Quartet, based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, formed in 1939, is a monument to Russian musical history. The present members Mikhail Bondarev (violin), Ekaterina Belisova (violin), Alexei Popov (viola), Anton Andreev (cello) are graduates of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory who, by virtue of a shared background steeped in the grand tradition of Russian music making, achieve organic and convincing interpretations of a diverse repertoire of masterworks, Russian classics, and contemporary masters. The Quartet champions the music of Russian composers with the core of their repertoire being the music of Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Taneyev and Stravinsky. They also perform lesser-known masterworks of Glinka, Alabiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Gretchaninov, Miaskovsky and Mossolov. The group is an exponent of contemporary composers having recently premiered Hans Werner Henze’s Piano Quintet at the Berliner Philharmonie. Furthermore, they have been active in presenting premiere performances of young composers in Saint Petersburg. Since 1989, the group has been actively touring abroad and has made appearances at numerous prestigious music festivals. At home, in Saint Petersburg they have appeared at “The Music Spring,” “From Vanguard to the Present Days,” “Ways of Sound,” and “Five Evenings” festivals; in Germany, they have performed at the Wurzer Sommerkonzerte and the Wachenheimer Serenade; in Great Britain, at the Oundle International Festival; in Italy, at the Festival Internazionale della Chitarra (Syracuse), Festival Internazionale della Chitarra Nicolo Paganini (Parma), and Palazzo del Priggione (Venice); in Finland at the festival of chamber music in Imatra; in Yugoslavia at Nomus; and in Poland at the Festival of Organ and Chamber Music in Kamen Pomorsky. The Quartet regularly performs in Saint Petersburg’s Academic Glinka Capella and in the Shostakovich Philharmonic Concert Hall. Abroad, they have appeared in Rome, Italy at the RAI concert hall, Oratorio Gonfallone, the Auditorium del Seraphicum, and the Ghione Theatre; also in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna; and at the Conservatory of Palermo; in Paris at the concert halls of UNESCO and St. Chapelle; in Switzerland at the Theater Basel; in Berlin, Germany at the Schauspielhaus and the Kammermusiksaal der Philarmonie, and in Bonn at the Klassische Philharmonie. The Quartet regularly collaborates with outstanding musicians from around the world, and has made many professional sound recordings released on labels in German, the United States, France, and in Russian.