The Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: “Anyone listening to the renowned Mandelring Quartet’s four-CD box set of Mendelssohn’s chamber music for strings will be astonished by, for example, the pure pathos of the introduction to the Quartet opus 13 or the eventful compositional density of the three opus 44 quartets. The listener will be devastated by the agitated desolation of op. 80, expressing the composer’s reaction to the death of his beloved sister Fanny.”, and continues: “Thus the whole project is dominated by an enthralling blend of astringency and virtuosity.”
The Mandelring Quartet’s distinguishing characteristics are its expressivity and remarkable homogeneity. The four individual members are as one in their shared determination always to seek out the innermost core of the music Thus there is a passionate interest in the structure and crafting of the works while at the same time there is the great joy of living with the music in a sensual dimension.
