Richter Ensemble

Richter Ensemble is a new chamber music initiative in which the members share a mutual passion for bold artistic expression. Emphasising flexibility and freedom, the group works mainly as a string quartet, but can expand to a larger chamber orchestra. It is fervent about highlighting hidden connections in music ranging from the 17th to the 21st centuries, demonstrated through its innovative programming. Benefitting from members' vast experiences of performing with leading period ensembles, the Richter Ensemble presents a fresh palette of colors by playing uniquely on gut strings. It seeks to bring spontaneity and new light to every performance and is enthusiastic about collaborating with artists from other fields such as dance and visual media (i.e. projections, installations, art exhibitions, and film). The ensemble has a particular affinity for music from Fin-desiècle and the Second Viennese School, and strives to reintroduce that music to audiences through a new lens.

Richter Ensemble gave its first concert with a programme of late Beethoven’s string quartets and music by Biber at the Refractions Festival at Owlpen Manor (UK) in the Fall of 2017. Enthusiastically received, it has since performed widely in the United Kingdom, Europe, Brazil and the United States. In the 2018-19 season the ensemble toured Southern California, Massachusetts, appeared at the Spokane Bach Festival (USA), and served as quartet-in-residence at the Oficina de Música de Curitiba (Brazil) and at San Diego’s summer festival Opera NEO (USA). Highlights of the 2019-20 include concerts and masterclasses in Los Angeles (USA), return appearances in Brazil and the UK, and the ensemble debut at the Great Lakes Music Festival (USA) and the Kretinga Early Music Festival in Lithuania.

In 2018 the Richter Ensemble embarked in a project of recording the complete Second Viennese School string quartets on gut strings, thereby proposing a unique interpretation to that repertory. The ensemble is based in Meaux, France and will be launching a new concert series at the Musée Bossuet in February 2021. © Richter Ensemble