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05.02.23 // 7 pm
Stuttgart Haigstkirche

Verdi
Streichquartett e-Moll
Schubert

Streichquartett D810 d-Moll
„Der Tod und das Mädchen“

Biografie

Bio

Three decades after its founding in Tokyo in 1992, the Stuttgart-based Lotus Quartet, is a phenomenon in several regards: as one of the few ensembles on the international quartet scene with female players in all positions, it has been playing over a particularly long period of time with a largely constant lineup. The synthesis of cultural influences from Japan and Germany, characteristic of the musical spirit of the Lotus Quartet, has been reinforced when Swantje Tauscher, the first concertmaster of the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, joined in 2022 as second violinist. Like her quartet partners, Tauscher received fundamental artistic impulses working with Peter Buck of the Melos Quartet and Rainer Schmidt, second violinist of the Hagen Quartet. The quartets of Viennese Classicism and German Romanticism as well as the French Impressionists form focal points of the Lotus Quartet's repertoire. In addition, contemporary Japanese composers such as Tōru Takemitsu and Toshio Hosokawa play an important role, as well as works by Helmut Lachenmann and the Second Viennese School. The recording of selected quartets by Mozart and a production with contemporary Japanese composers (Teldec, 1997 and 2000) as well as a CD with lesser-known quartets by the Bohemian Johann Baptist Vanhal (cpo, 2014) received critical acclaim. The outstanding press reviews were in stark contrast to the prejudice about Asian musicians not understanding the intellectual universe of the European repertoire, still widespread at the time. As early as 1993, the Lotus Quartet won third prize at the renowned international chamber music competition in Osaka. A scholarship enabled the four musicians to participate in master classes of the Amadeus and Melos Quartets. From 1995 on, they studied with the Melos Quartet at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Künste in Stuttgart. Further achievements at international competitions include the second prize at the Viotti Competition in Italy (1995), followed by the Menuhin Prize at the London Quartet Competition 1996/97, the third prize at the “Premio Paolo Borciani” and the first prize at the competition of the Kulturkreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI. Within a short time, the Lotus Quartet established itself as a regular guest at the prominent German chamber music series in Munich, Erfurt, Bruchsal, or Braunschweig, as well as at summer festivals such as the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. Here the musicians worked intensively with Walter Levin, former primarius of the LaSalle Quartet, in 1998. The same period saw the beginning of the Lotus Quartet's international career, with concerts in Valencia, Zurich, Tokyo, and Osaka, among others. In addition to its regular engagements at major venues in Germany such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf or the Liederhalle in Stuttgart and important festivals, the Lotus Quartet has made successful guest appearances in numerous European countries. The quartet regularly tours its home country Japan performing in major music venues. Since 1998 the four musicians return annually to Darmstadt, where they performed the complete quartet works of Beethoven. In November 2004 they started their Schubert cycle, and from 2008 the Lotus Quartet presented Mozart's ten late quartets and five string quintets in a series of five concerts. In 2012, the ensemble celebrated its 20th anniversary with a concert at Izumi Hall in Osaka, which was recorded by Japan's NHK television. In 2017, the Lotus Quartet repeated their Beethoven cycle in Japan, followed by performances of Beethoven's late quartets in several Japanese cities in 2018. Cyclical performances of the compositions by great composers such as Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Beethoven play a central role in the Lotus Quartet's regular Japan tours. The ensemble's 30th-anniversary tour in February 2023 will culminate in two evenings of performances of all six string quartets by Felix Mendelssohn. The Lotus Quartet's chamber music partners have included Wolfgang Boettcher, Martin Fröst, Sebastian Manz, Peter Buck, Wolfgang Güttler, Philippe Tondre, and Bernd Glemser.

KONZERTE
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Concerts

05.02.23
7 pm

Lienzingen  Frauenkirche
Wolf
Italienische Serenade G-Dur
Beethoven
Streichquartett C-Dur op.59 Nr.3
Brahms
Streichquartett Nr. 1 c-Moll op.51 Nr.1

22.02.23
7 pm

Hannover 
Privat-Konzert

22.10.23
 

Stuttgart 
Privat-Konzert

26-27.10.23
 

Stuttgart 
CD Aufnahme mit dem Aeolus Label

28.10.23
 

Stuttgart 
Privat-Konzert

24.02.23
7 pm

Wendlingen

Mendelssohn
Streichquartett op.80 f-Moll 
Schubert
Streichquartett D810 
d-Moll 
Der Tod und das Mädchen
 

 

07.01.24
 

Stuttgart 
Konzert mit Christiane Meininger

24.02.24
10.30 Uhr

Stuttgart 
Finalrunde 1 Guagdanini Wettbewerb
Musikhochschule Stuttgart

26.02.23
2 pm

Bad Canstatt Stadtkirche

Widmann
Strei
chquartett Nr.2 und Nr.5
 

Lörrach
Haydn
Strei
chquartett op.76 Nr.2 d-Moll
"Quinten-Quartett“

Schubert
Streichquartett D87 Es-Dur
Brahms
Streichquartett op.51 Nr.2 a-Moll

 

16.04.24
 

Heilbronn
Haydn
Strei
chquartett op.20 Nr.2 C-Dur
"Sonnenquartett“

Mendelssohn
Streichquartett op.80 f-Moll
Brahms
Streichquartett op.51 Nr.2 a-Moll

 

17.05.24
 

21.07.24
11 Uhr

13.10.24
17 Uhr

Lienzingen Frauenkirche
Mozart  Dissonanzen KV 465 Quartett C-Dur
Beethoven Streichquartett op.18 2 G-Dur
Schumann Streichquartett op.41 3 A-Dur 

Echterdingen Stephanuskirche
Fauré Streichquintett Nr.1 op.89 d-Moll 
Fauré Streichquintett Nr.2 op.115 c-Moll

6.11.24

7.11.24

Osaka Izumi Hall
Schubert  Quartettsatz D 703 Quartett
Mendelssohn Streichquartett op.80 
F. Mendelssohn Streichquartett Es-Dur
 

Tokyo Bunka Hall
Mendelssohn Quartett op. 13 Mendelssohn Oktett 

Osaka Tsurumi Hall
Mozart  Dissonanzen KV 465 Quartett C-Dur Beethoven  Streichquartett op.18 2 
Schumann  Streichquartett op. 41 3

10.11.24

MITGLIEDER
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Sachiko Kobayashi

Violin

Sachiko Kobayashi studied at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and with Wilhelm Melcher at the Stuttgart University of Music.

She won the third prize at the Japan Music Competition in 1993 and performed as concertmaster of the „Ensemble of Tokyo“ while still a student. 

In addition to her career with the Lotus Quartet, she has been concertmaster of the Süddeutsche Kammersinfonie Bietigheim since 2008, often performing with them as soloist. 

In 2017, she began teaching at the Fukuroi Chamber Music Academy in Japan.

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Sachiko Kobayashi studied at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and with Wilhelm Melcher at the Stuttgart University of Music. She won …

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Swantje Tauscher

Violin

Swantje Tauscher is currently first concertmaster at the Philharmonic Orchestra Freiburg and has recently worked as concertmaster of the SWR Stuttgart and the Tyrol Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck. She has played as a soloist at the Mozarteum Foundation and also performs at festivals as the Palermo Classica Festival.

In 2021 she released her debut album "Après un rêve" with the renown label Hänssler Classic. Since 2022 she is a new member of the Lotus Quartet.

Tauscher has received numerous awards in competitions, including the WDR Classical Prize (West German Radio). She recieved in 2021 and 2022 the Neustart Kultur.

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Swantje Tauscher is currently first concertmaster of the Philharmonie Freiburg and has recently worked as concertmaster of the SWR Stuttgart and the Tiroler Sinfonieorchester Innsbruck. In 2021 she released her debut album "Après un rêve" with the reknown label Hänssler Classic. Concerts have led …

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Tomoko Yamasaki

Viola

Tomoko Yamasaki studied at Soai University in Osaka. Upon graduation in 1990, she was appointed Principal Viola of the newly formed Century Orchestra Osaka, a precocious and highly-regarded achievement. Since leaving the orchestra for the Lotus Quartet in 1992, she has returned repeatedly as a soloist, recently performing Bartók’s Viola Concerto at the Century Orchestra’s 30th Anniversary Subscription Concert in 2019. She frequently performs solo recitals and was invited by the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra to join the Vienna Philharmonic’s First Concertmaster Folkhard Steude as soloist in 2020.

Tomoko Yamasaki studied at Soai University in Osaka. Upon graduation in 1990, she was appointed …

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Chihiro Saito

Violoncello

Chihiro Saito studied with Reine Flachot at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music before continuing her education with Peter Buck and baroque cellist Kristin von der Goltz in Germany. 

A winner of many prizes, she has become active as an increasingly noteworthy soloist on both modern and baroque cello. 

In 2011, solo recitals in Tokyo and Osaka titled 'The Evolution of the Violoncello' brought Ms. Saito increased attention and acclaim as a Japanese cellist active in Europe. Additionally, she is increasingly sought after as a bass continuo player.

Chihiro Saito studied with Reine Flachot at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music before continuing her education with Peter Buck and …

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Members

Music

Mendelssohn Streichquartett op.80 3. Satz aus dem Live Konzert / Lotus Quartett, Stuttgart

Lotus Quartett
Mendelssohn Streichquartett op.80  3. Satz aus dem Live Konzert / Lotus Quartett, Stuttgart