St. Petersburg String Quartet

The St. Petersburg String Quartet was founded in 1985 as the Leningrad Quartet by Professor Vladimir Ovtcharek from graduates of the St Petersburg Conservatory. Ovtcharek himself is the first violin of the famous Tanejev Quartet. Soon the young ensemble was taking part in many national and international competitions. In the first year of their existence they won the All-Russian Competition. In 1991 they competed for the fourth time in six years in the International Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne and returned with a First Prize and the „Musica Viva“ Grand Prix. In addition to taking part in competitions the musicians from St. Petersburg have made successful guest appearances in Europe, the USA and South-East Asia. They have also participated in the St. Petersburg Cultural Festival in Buenos Aires and in international festivals of contemporary music. This presupposes experience in the interpretation of new chamber music works, which have long since become a focal point of their repertoire. Of course works by Russian composers, such as Shostakovich, Borodin, Glazunov and Tchaikovsky, occupy an important place.