Danfeng Shen, violin
Antonia Rankersberger, violin
Xiang Lyu, viola
Ivan Valentin Hollup Roald, cello
“[…] they put on such a breathtaking performance that at the end the audience trampled with enthusiasm.”
… with these words, the Hamburger Abendblatt described the great joy of playing and virtuosity with which the Simply Quartet always performs, after its concert at the Elbphilharmonie in February 2023, where it was the first String Quartet to appear in the “Fast Lane” series.
The enormous range of their repertoire extends from early classical works to the latest compositions by living composers. Always in search of the greatest possible authenticity, the four musicians immerse themselves in meticulous score study and decipher the musical text with great curiosity.
The current cast of the quartet was established during their joint studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where the four musicians worked closely with their most important mentor Johannes Meissl. The quartet was founded in Shanghai, where Jensen Horn-Sin Lam supported the ensemble from the very beginning. Other important mentors were Hatto Beyerle and Patrick Jüdt (European Chamber Music Academy/ECMA) as well as Günter Pichler and Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet).
The quartet has been awarded four first prizes at prestigious chamber music competitions: the Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition 2019, the Quatuor á Bordeaux 2019, the International Chamber Music Competition Franz Schubert and Modern Music 2018 and the 7th International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition 2017.
In the 2021/22 season, the Simply Quartet was the selected ensemble of the ECHO Rising Stars series, followed by debuts in some of the most important concert halls in Europe. The quartet is now a regular guest at the Wigmore Hall London, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Elbphilharmonie, the BOZAR Brussels and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, as well as at renowned festivals such as the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. In addition, tours have led the quartet to Colombia and China.
This season, concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall London, the Flagey in Brussels, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg and the Louvre in Paris are scheduled. Moreover, the quartet will begin its guest professorship as a string quartet at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music (ZJCM) in fall 2024.
Primarius Danfeng Shen plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1753, which is at his disposal thanks to a generous loan from MERITO String Instruments Trust GmbH.
Antonia Rankersberger plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (“ex Beare – ex Tetzlaff”, Turin, 1776), which is on loan to her from the Austrian National Bank.
Xiang Lyu plays a viola by Edgar Russ (2010).
Ivan Valentin Hollup Roald plays on a cello by Giovanni Battista Ceruti (1801), generously made available to him by a private person.
