Biography

The Mozarteum Quartet, whose origins can be traced back to the 1930s, has traditionally been led by the principal concertmaster of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, on the initiative of the co-founder of the Salzburg Festival, Bernhard Paumgartner.

Since 1998, the quartet has been led by concertmaster Markus Tomasi, who alongside his colleagues Marianne Riehle (violin), Milan Radič (viola) and Marcus Pouget (cello) has developed a distinctive style and unmistakable interpretation of chamber works within a short period of time.

Since then, they have enthralled numerous audiences with their guest performances at prestigious concert halls and festivals around the world — including London's Wigmore Hall, Vienna's Konzerthaus, Milan's Scala Verdi, Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory Hall, Prague's Martinů Hall, Tel Aviv's Museum of Art, Barcelona's Palau de la Musica, at music festivals in Beirut, Croatia and Hong Kong, and on tours of Asia and Latin America.

From the 2004/05 season onwards, the quartet has established its own cycle at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and in 2006 recorded for the Oehms Classics label.

The quartet's repertoire is based on classical works — primarily the string quartets of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as their interpretations in a modern style. This repertoire has since been expanded to include works by contemporary, particularly Austrian, composers.

In many programmes the Mozarteum Quartet performs alongside distinguished musicians such as Jessye Norman, Marjana Lipovšek, Valery Afanassiev, Milan Turkovic, Radovan Vlatković and the soloists of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics.