The Formosa Quartet is the 2006 Tenth London International String Quartet Competition winners. In 2003 the quartet was formed for a tour of Taiwan, the land from which three of the current members hail. The four members are Jasmine Lin, Che-yen Chen, Ayano Ninomiya and Jacob Braun musicians who before forming as the Formosa had already gained established reputations as accomplished solo and chamber players.
The name Formosa means beautiful, this was the name which the Portuguese gave to the island of Taiwan so it was fitting that as the original four were all from Taiwan that they should adopt the name as their own when they formed originally in 2002. The quartet got together to tour their homeland, with Ru Pei on Cello, the two week tour was supposed to be just that but the magic was there and the rest, as they say, is history. The quartet put it better:
"The process of how we evolved into the quartet we are might be likened to
being in a drizzling rain. You get wetter and wetter by imperceptible degrees
and at some point-- though it's hard to say when -- you are drenched. After the
tour we simply took every opportunity of playing together that we could find
and three and a half years later found ourselves with the responsibilities and
challenges of a "real quartet."
2008 sees another busy year for Formosa after their autumn tour of the UK last year with festivals and dates across the United States, details can be found on the quartet's website which you can see
The Formosa Quartet.
Labels: classical music, formosa quartet, string quartet
A string quartet is a group of musicians who come together to play classical or chamber music, them being comprised usually of two violin players, a viola player and a cellist. There are other combinations of stringed instrument but this is widely recognised as the classic format.
Music was first played in this form in the eighteenth century with Joseph Haydens compositions for the string quartet being played in five movements, this was restructured to four and that became the standard formula. Haydens is recognised as the father of the string quartet.
Here at Play Quartet we help to promote the discovery and development of talent and audiences for the String Quartet by holding musical and educational events here in London where you will find established international performers and the showcasing of up and coming talent. It is our aim to uphold what we consider to be the very essence of musical performance, a pure form of music which cannot be surpassed in the way that it allows interpretation to be wide and varied whilst pertaining to the original vision of the composer.
Labels: chamber music, classical music, string quartet
