The Beennewitz Quartet, founded in 1998 at the Arts Academy in Prague, borrowed its name from the Czech violinist and teacher Antonin Bennewitz (1833-1926). At the Queen Sofía College of Music, the quartet received the teachings of Rainer Schmidt, the violinist of the Hagen Quartet. They then studied at the City of Basel Music Academy with Walter Levin, the Lasalle Quartet violinist.
In 2004, they won two prizes at the ARD Music Competition in Munchen; the year after they received the golden medal at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan, and in 2008, first prize at the Premio Paolo (an international string quartet competition in Reggio Emilia). The quartetappeared in festivals such as Rheingau, Heidelberg, Lucerne, Prague Spring Festival, and in venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Auditoro Nacional de Madrid, the Herkulessaal in Munchen and the Rudolfinum in Prague.
During the 2008-09 season, they toured accross Europe, the United States, and Japan. In 2005, they recorded the Bartók and Janáček string quartets on the Coviello Classics label. In 2011, for its first concert in Paris, the quartet performs at the Auditorium du Louvre, along with the French violist Arnaud Thorette. Their concert is broadcast live on medici.tv.
© Auditorium du Louvre 2011
