Mandelring Quartet plays Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Ligeti in Friends of Chamber Music concert, October 29

Now in their 40th-anniversary year, critically acclaimed group returns to Vancouver for the first time since 2016

Mandelring Quartet. Photo by Guido Werner

 
 

Friends of Chamber Music present the Mandelring Quartet on October 29 at 3 pm at the Vancouver Playhouse

 

GERMANY’S CRITICALLY acclaimed Mandelring Quartet is marking its 40th-anniversary year with concerts around the world. As luck would have it for local audiences, the group is returning to Vancouver in a Friends of Chamber Music show for the first time since 2016.

Violinists Sebastian Schmidt and Nanette Schmidt, violist Andreas Willwohl, and cellist Bernhard Schmidt craft a complex sound that has won them numerous prestigious competitions, including Germany’s ARD International Music Competition and Italy’s Premio Paolo Borciani.

In 1997, the group founded the annual Hambacher MusikFest, a beacon for chamber music in their hometown of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse.

The Mandelring Quartet have performed in Madrid’s Spanish Royal Palace four times, most recently this spring—the 18th-century Baroque architecture-style building, spanning 1.5 million square feet with over 1,400 rooms, is notably the largest royal palace in Europe. The group played using the royal collection of Stradivari instruments, crafted by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari from in the late 1600s and early 1700s and praised for their high-caliber sound.

Several CD recordings have been released by the quartet, earning them the German Record Critics’ Prize and nominations for the International Classical Music Awards. Their most recent release, 2021’s Debussy & Rivier string quartets, pairs the works of two French composers—one a well-known classic, the other a passionately varied hidden gem.

The quartet is set to play three stunning string works at the Vancouver Playhouse: Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Opus 49, Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti’s “Métamorphoses Nocturnes”, and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Opus 132.

Late Beethoven quartets are quintessential to any Friends of Chamber Music season, and Mandelring will deliver just that.  

 
 
 
 
Featured
Emily Lyth
Emily Lyth

Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

 
 

Related Articles

Articles
Western Front presents Karen Ng's improvised concert Backwards Blue, March 26
Western Front presents Karen Ng's improvised concert Backwards Blue, March 26

Toronto-based artist is known for her prowess as a saxophonist and creative music collaborations

Brahms X Radiohead finds common ground between classical music and alternative rock
Brahms X Radiohead finds common ground between classical music and alternative rock

Composer and conductor Steve Hackman has no fear of crossing stylistic boundaries

Cascade Peaks ChamberFest announces a world premiere for its inaugural vocal ensemble program
Cascade Peaks ChamberFest announces a world premiere for its inaugural vocal ensemble program

At a July 20 concert, faculty lead Mark Vuorinen directs Where Wildness Lives by renowned B.C. composer Imant Raminsh

Bansuri player Lara Wong and flamenco guitarist Melón Jiménez cultivate otherworldly sounds at the Kay Meek, March 19 to 21
Bansuri player Lara Wong and flamenco guitarist Melón Jiménez cultivate otherworldly sounds at the Kay Meek, March 19 to 21

Tracks off the pair’s Juno-nominated 2024 album Confluencias trace the music traditions of Spain and India

Vancouver Opera stages Giacomo Puccini’s beloved opera La Bohème, April 25 to May 3
Vancouver Opera stages Giacomo Puccini’s beloved opera La Bohème, April 25 to May 3

Music director emeritus Jonathan Darlington returns to conduct this Parisian love story tested by the bittersweet passage of time

Legendary Inuk artist Susan Aglukark and throat-singing duo PIQSIQ perform at the Chan Centre, April 12
Legendary Inuk artist Susan Aglukark and throat-singing duo PIQSIQ perform at the Chan Centre, April 12

Award-winning artists reclaim Arctic sounds with soaring vocals

SUBA Trio creates inspiring musical unity from Africa’s sublime sources
SUBA Trio creates inspiring musical unity from Africa’s sublime sources

Although from different points on the map, pianist Omar Sosa, kora player Seckou Keita, and percussionist Gustavo Ovalles realized through improvisation that they were attuned to one another

Ramneek Singh performs her spring-inspired concert Basant Ke Rang at the Shadbolt Centre, March 29
Ramneek Singh performs her spring-inspired concert Basant Ke Rang at the Shadbolt Centre, March 29

Internationally acclaimed Hindustani classical vocalist is joined by harmonium player Mohan Bhide and tabla player Sunny Matharu

All nine Beethoven symphonies, as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra unveils 2026-27 season
All nine Beethoven symphonies, as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra unveils 2026-27 season

Steven Isserlis, James Ehnes, and Augustin Hadelich among the soloists hitting the concert stage

Vancouver International Children’s Festival gets set to welcome everything from high-energy Danish dance to artful Korean doodling
Vancouver International Children’s Festival gets set to welcome everything from high-energy Danish dance to artful Korean doodling

Eighty shows in all, as Italy’s Teatro Telaio sets up an ARCHIPELAGO installation, plus pow-wow, hip-hop, and massive puppets

A Dorothy Chang premiere unites the seasoned and emerging players of Vetta’s Mentorship Orchestra, March 6 to 9
A Dorothy Chang premiere unites the seasoned and emerging players of Vetta’s Mentorship Orchestra, March 6 to 9

At a concert called A Look to the Future, the piece shares a program with works by John Rutter, Jocelyn Morlock, and Tchaikovsky

With PopCappella, Chor Leoni reinterprets everything from the B-52s to the Proclaimers, March 6 and 7
With PopCappella, Chor Leoni reinterprets everything from the B-52s to the Proclaimers, March 6 and 7

Harmonizing through the decades, Vancouver choir is set to premiere six new arrangements

Jenn Grant draws on her family history for sometimes-heartbreaking songs
Jenn Grant draws on her family history for sometimes-heartbreaking songs

The Nova Scotian singer-songwriter is touring with a new multimedia show, Cradled by the Waves

Dominique Fils-Aimé’s music becomes a way of life rooted in emotional journey
Dominique Fils-Aimé’s music becomes a way of life rooted in emotional journey

Acclaimed Montreal singer and songwriter intertwines healing experiences in nature and musical history to reach toward the light

Bilingual Montreal tunesmith Aleksi Campagne carries on a family tradition
Bilingual Montreal tunesmith Aleksi Campagne carries on a family tradition

At Festival du Bois, the singer-violinist will blend Québécois fiddle tunes with an indie-folk sensibility

Music on Main fetes 20 seasons of programming with Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, March 23
Music on Main fetes 20 seasons of programming with Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, March 23

Percussionist Vern Griffiths leads a rare performance of the rhythmic composition

Nicholas Wright conducts candlelit show Enchanted Brilliance: A British Serenade, February 26
Nicholas Wright conducts candlelit show Enchanted Brilliance: A British Serenade, February 26

The VSO School of Music’s advanced young string ensemble Sinfonietta plays pieces by Vaughan Williams, Purcell, and more

Ruckus Early Music finds lightness of dance in inspiring story of Ignatius Sancho
Ruckus Early Music finds lightness of dance in inspiring story of Ignatius Sancho

New York City ensemble’s program for Early Music Vancouver pairs pieces by Handel with high-spirited English country dances by the British African composer and abolitionist

Tord Gustavsen Trio performs sublime Nordic jazz at Christ Church Cathedral, March 17
Tord Gustavsen Trio performs sublime Nordic jazz at Christ Church Cathedral, March 17

Acclaimed ensemble’s impressionistic sound is inspired by blues, gospel, Scandinavian folk, and church music

Vancouver Cantata Singers artistic director Paula Kremer to move to role of conductor emerita
Vancouver Cantata Singers artistic director Paula Kremer to move to role of conductor emerita

The long-time vocalist, pianist, and conductor is set to pass on the baton at the end of the 2026–27 season

Composer Kati Agócs reveals sacred music as source of resistance in Hosanna of the Clouds
Composer Kati Agócs reveals sacred music as source of resistance in Hosanna of the Clouds

Vancouver Bach Choir performs Canadian premiere of work that draws on both ancient tradition and the 20th-century avant garde to explore the creative act

Baritone Geoffrey Schellenberg sings the role of Figaro in The Barber of Seville, February 21 to 28
Baritone Geoffrey Schellenberg sings the role of Figaro in The Barber of Seville, February 21 to 28

Gioachino Rossini’s opera buffa is the subject of countless pop-culture references by characters like Bugs Bunny and Homer Simpson

Maestro Otto Tausk guides the VSO through Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, March 13 to 15
Maestro Otto Tausk guides the VSO through Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, March 13 to 15

Powerful composition shares a program with Henri Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain… (A Whole Distant World…) and Michael Oesterle’s La Chapelle

Alliance Française Vancouver presents Amir Amiri and Elham Menouchehri's MA, March 14
Alliance Française Vancouver presents Amir Amiri and Elham Menouchehri's MA, March 14

Musical dialogue between santour and tar explores concepts of space and unity

Elektra unites Canadian composers with If the Earth Could Sing, March 28 and 29
Elektra unites Canadian composers with If the Earth Could Sing, March 28 and 29

Pieces by Katerina Gimon, Andrew Staniland, and more offer reflections on climate change and peace

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts hosts Omar Sosa and Seckou Keita's SUBA Trio, March 13
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts hosts Omar Sosa and Seckou Keita's SUBA Trio, March 13

Musicians celebrate ancestral connections to Africa with a unique fusion of genres

Canadian pianist Sophia Liu joins the VSO's celebratory Lunar New Year event, February 12
Canadian pianist Sophia Liu joins the VSO's celebratory Lunar New Year event, February 12

Prior to the concert, the Orpheum hosts traditional art-making activities and lion dancing

Powerful compositions by Dame Ethel Smyth and Kati Agócs mark Canadian premieres at the Orpheum, February 28
Powerful compositions by Dame Ethel Smyth and Kati Agócs mark Canadian premieres at the Orpheum, February 28

Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs presents the 1893 masterpiece Mass in D major and contemporary work Hosanna of the Clouds

Review: Vancouver Opera’s cheeky Così fan tutte satirizes men as much as women
Review: Vancouver Opera’s cheeky Così fan tutte satirizes men as much as women

Set handsomely in a hotel lounge in the Canadian Rockies, the show features a strong and comedically adept cast that helps finesse a fun new spin on Mozart’s original

You’re the Top delivers a “de-lovely” Valentine’s date with Cole Porter
You’re the Top delivers a “de-lovely” Valentine’s date with Cole Porter

Classic film scholar Michael van den Bos hosts evening that mixes vintage film clips with the jazz sounds of the Laura Crema Sextet

WHAT'S STIRRING, MUSICJanet SmithFriends of Chamber Music