In 1975, four young musicians came together to form the Mannheimer String Quartet, named after a city well established in musical history. Intensive training with the Amadeus and LaSalle Quartets but most of all with the Melos Quartet prepared the young musicians for numerous performances and competitions in Europe.
During the first years of experience, the MSQ won the award at the Karl Klingler Competition in Hanover, the 9th international String Quartet Competition in Evian, Switzerland and in 1985 was awarded the "Felix-Medelssohn-Bartholdy-Preis" in Berlin. One year later the ensemble went to win the first prize at the "German Music Competition" in Bonn. It won a reputation for excellence, performs both in Germany and abroad.
The concerts as well as the recordings of the MSQ cover a wide range of string quartet literature , starting with Dittersdorf through Mozart and Tschaikowsky to Denhoff. Participation in many television and radio broadcast also prove the merits of the MSQ, placing it in the circle of renowned international string quartets.
The MSQ has its residence in Essen, Germany.
“Ihr Rhythmus, ihr Zusammenspiel, ihr `typisch deutscher Sinn für die Struktur´ des Werkes, verbindet sich auf das Wunderbarste mit französischer Fantasie und Sensibilität (...). Ich habe so etwas bisher noch nie gehört, außer in meinem Kopf, während des penibelsten Partiturlesens...”
schrieb der französische Komponist Jean Francaix in einem Brief an das Mannheimer Streichquartett