Artemis Quartet

Natalia Prishepenko, violin
Gregor Sigl, violin
Friedemann Weigle, viola
Eckart Runge, cello

The Berlin-based Artemis Quartet was founded at the Lübeck Musikhochschule in 1989, and quickly gained a reputation as one of the leading ensembles of their generation. . Walter Levin, the Emerson Quartet, the Juilliard Quartet, and the Alban Berg Quartet have been and remain important teachers and mentors for the Quartet. Their international stature was established by winning First Prizes at the ARD Competition in 1996 and, soon after, First Prize at the Borciani Competition. Rather than dive headfirst into the tempting fast track of career success, the members of the Artemis Quartet instead immersed themselves in further study. In 1998 the ensemble spent a year in residence with the Alban Berg Quartet in Vienna followed by a three-month sabbatical at Berlin's Wissenschaftskolleg. Their June 1999 debut at the Berlin Philharmonie marked the formal start of their career.

Since 2004 the quartet's series of concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie has met with high praise from critics and audiences alike. The Quartet boasts a busy schedule of concerts at all the most important concert venues in Europe, the U.S., Japan, South America, and Australia, and  participates in numerous international festivals.

Recordings by the Artemis Quartet on the Ars Musici label and on Virgin Classics/EMI have been awarded the German Record Critics' Award (Deutscher Schallplattenpreis) and Diapason d'Or. In October 2006 the Artemis Quartet's recording of Beethoven’s Opus 95 and Opus 59, No. 1, was awarded Germany's definitive Echo Klassik award for "Chamber Music Recording of the Year."

July 2011 - Please do not edit without permission.