“A refined fire, glowing, perfectly formed.” – DER SPIEGEL

Florian Donderer, violin
Annette Walther, violin
Xandi van Dijk, viola
Thomas Schmitz, violoncello

Energetic and lively, the Signum Quartet has made its mark on the international quartet scene and has been called “an exhilarating cocktail” (der Spiegel). It has enjoyed support from Bayer Kultur as part of its stART cultural programme and as ensemble of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. The quartet has performed throughout their native Germany, at Wigmore Hall and Cadogan Hall London, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, as well as venues across Finland, Norway, Switzerland and France. It has toured extensivly in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, and has appeared at numerous iternational festivals. The Signum Quartet has been lauded at the German Music Competition, Premio Paolo Borciani, ICMC Hamburg and the London International String Quartet Competition.

Florian Donderer & Annette Walther, violins
Xandi van Dijk, viola
Thomas Schmitz, violoncello

Performances of unsparing expressivity, intimacy and vitality are hallmarks of the Signum Quartet, pairing music making of the subtlest order with playing of the highest intensity. The dramatic composition of their programs is innovative and distinct and is realized with uncompromising perfection in interpretations of effortless transparency. Rondo Magazine has described Signum as an ensemble who are “enormously intelligent..” and incorporate “…knowledgeable programming…”

Signum Quartet is commencing their 2022/2023 season with a recital tour, entitled Glimpses, which will see them perform in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Ireland. Their recital tour will conclude with the Quartet being featured in the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Ireland. In June 2022, Signum will return to the USA as the feature guest artists at the ENCORE Chamber Music Festival in Ohio and the Princeton Festival in New Jersey. In May 2023, Signum will make their Carnegie Hall debut presenting one of their signature programs including quartet works by Haydn, South African composers Matthijs van Dijk and Priaulx Rainier and Schubert’s Death and the Maiden.

The quartet has been a welcome guest at the Wigmore Hall London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, Konzerthaus Vienna, Philharmonie Cologne, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and at the BBC Proms, with partners such as Nils Mönkemeyer, Dominique Horwitz, Jörg Widmann, Daniel Ottensamer, Nicolas Altstaedt and Elisabeth Leonskaja. In 2021 the ensemble will give its debut at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Intensive studies with the Alban Berg Quartet, Artemis Quartet and the Melos Quartet as well as collaborations with György Kurtág, Walter Levin, Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher and Jörg Widmann have shaped the artistic development of the Signum Quartet, which has won numerous awards. The Quartet are recipients of the German Music Competition, Premio Paolo Borciani, London International String Quartet Competition and has been accorded intensive support through being recipients of the BBC New Generation Artists and stART-Programm/ Bayer Kultur.

The Signum Quartet’s discography is a testament to their stylistic range: Next to the greats of the quartet literature, they have recorded works by Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann and Kevin Volans. Their recording of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Second String Quartet Lost Prayers for ECM won Classical Album of the Year at the Estonian Music Awards 2021. Following their multi-award-winning album “Aus der Ferne” (Diapason D’Or, Opus Klassik), the Signum Quartet continues its Schubert cycle for PENTATONE with “Ins stille Land”, deepening its exploration of the fascinating connections between his string quartets and songs. Their newest album was received with critical acclaim, with The Strad hailing Signum’s recording of Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” as “…up there with the best from a crowded field…”