Danfeng Shen, violin
Antonia Rankersberger, violin
Xiang Lyu, viola
Ivan Valentin Hollup Roald, cello
The Simply Quartet was founded in Shanghai in 2008 under the tutelage of Professor Jensen Horn-Sin Lam. Originally an all-Chinese quartet, the group’s musical journey took it to Vienna in 2012. This led to a change in formation, in which two of the original players Danfeng Shen (violin) and Xiang Lu (viola) were joined by Norwegian cellist Ivan Valentin Hollup Roald (in 2016) and Austrian violinist Antonia Rankersberger (in 2018). They are currently studying with Professor Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet) at the Joseph Haydn Institute for Chamber Music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Currently based in Vienna, the quartet has been concentrating for some years on the roots of the German and Austrian string quartet repertoire. This is reflected in the group’s recent successes at two major international competitions. At the 2017 Haydn Competition in Vienna, they were awarded First Prize in addition to special prizes for the best performance of a work by Joseph Haydn and for the best performance of the work commissioned by the competition. In February 2018, they won First Prize in the ‘Schubert and Modern Music’ international chamber music competition. They have also given several concerts in the Haydn and Beethoven houses in Vienna and Baden, as well as in the ‘Haydn region’ of Lower Austria.
As well as working on the major string quartet repertoire, the quartet explores new music from their member countries, China, Austria and Norway. They also performed the premiere of Brad Lubmans’ string quartet Fleeting Moments at the Grafenegg Festival in 2017.
The Simply Quartet is becoming increasingly active on chamber music stages in Europe and China, particularly in Austria. Recent seasons have included performances in venues such as the Wiener Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Berlin Konzerthaus, Stefanien Hall in Graz, Wigmore Hall in London, Kamermuziek Souvenir in Tilburg, Emergents Festival in Barcelona, Casa da Musica in Portugal, Rachmaninov Hall in Moscow and the Vatican Museum. They have also performed at festivals such as the Pablo Casals Festival, the Shanghai Chamber Music Festival, the Styrian Chamber Music Festival, Allegro Vivo in Lower Austria (Waldviertel) and the Ghent Festival in Belgium.
The 2019/20 concert season will include performances at the Wigmore Hall (ECMA showcase), Banff Center of the Arts, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Februari Festival in The Hague, Wiener Musikverein and Konzerthaus, MuTh in Vienna, and concerts throughout Austria in connection with Jeunesses Musicales, as well as for Italian Jeunesse Musicales with concerts in Bergamo, Milan, Modena and Fermo.
2019 has been a successful year for the Simply Quartet. At the ‘Quatuors á Bordeaux’ international string quartet competition in June, the quartet was awarded the Grand Prize, which includes a three-year world tour organised by the CLB management and Künstleragentur Vivace. In October, they achieved another major success, winning first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition in Copenhagen.
The Simply Quartet has also been playing arranged music with a new approach to music in mind. In 2017, they took part in the Musethica Festival in Zaragosa and Vienna, where they played in institutions such as schools for pupils with special needs, prisons, homeless shelters and adult education centres in addition to traditional concert halls. At the Concert House in Vienna, they performed for children and young adults. This included a concert with beatboxing artist RoBeat.
The Simply Quartet became a member of ECMA (the European Chamber Music Academy) in 2017. In this context, they travel to sessions all over Europe and have the opportunity to work intensively with teachers such as Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg Quartet), Alfred Brendel, Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Patrick Jüdt, Miguel Da Silva, Antonello Farulli and Michel Lethiec, in addition to being able to take part in many exciting workshops and enjoy lessons with Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet).
In addition to the prizes mentioned above, the Simply Quartet can look back on a long list of awards from competitions such as the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition, the Irene Steels Wilsing Competition in Heidelberg, the Shanghai Chamber Music Competition, the Beijing International Quartet Competition, the Casinos Austria Rising Star 2017 Prize, the ECMA Prize, the Artis Quartet Prize and the Wiener Classic Prize from the ISA (International Summer Academy of the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts).
