The Schumann Quartett has reached a stage in its artistic journey where anything is possible, having chosen to let go of all certainties. From one concert to the next, audiences too must be prepared for every eventuality: “A work truly takes shape only in live performance,” the quartet explains. “That is the authentic experience, because even we never know in advance what will happen. On stage, all imitation disappears, and one inevitably becomes honest with oneself. It is then that a bond with the audience is created, allowing us to communicate through music.”

The quartet’s forthcoming performances will be enriched by collaborations with artists including Andreas Ottensamer, Kit Armstrong, Anna-Lucia Richter, Sabine Meyer, Katharina Konradi, Sharon Kam and Alexey Stadler. Highlights of the 2026/2027 season include appearances at Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, Bozar in Brussels and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg.

The quartet will also appear at the Tsinandali Festival with Lisa Batiashvili, the Cartagena Music Festival in Colombia and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw. A US tour will follow in November 2026, including performances at Lincoln Center in New York and Stude Concert Hall in Houston.

The quartet’s third album, *Intermezzo* (2018), featuring works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann and Aribert Reimann and recorded with soprano Anna-Lucia Richter, received widespread acclaim from national and international critics. In 2019, it was awarded the Opus Klassik in the chamber music recording category. In 2020, the ensemble expanded its discography with *Fragment*, an intense exploration of the work of one of the great masters of the string quartet repertoire: Franz Schubert.

To mark the centenary of radio broadcasting, the quartet undertook a distinctive project: in autumn 2023, it released an album devoted entirely to music composed in 1923. Created in collaboration with Bayerischer Rundfunk, the critically acclaimed recording features works by Alban Berg, Leoš Janáček, Paul Hindemith and Aaron Copland.

The three brothers Mark, Erik and Ken Schumann have played together since early childhood. They are joined by violist Matthew McDowell, who completes the quartet. The four musicians value the ability to communicate without words: although each retains a clearly recognisable personality, every work gives rise to a shared space through a process of spiritual metamorphosis.

The quartet’s openness and curiosity have also been shaped by encounters with teachers such as Eberhard Feltz and the Alban Berg Quartet, as well as artistic partners including Menahem Pressler. Awards and recordings may help explain why many consider the Schumann Quartett one of the finest quartets in the world; the four musicians themselves, however, regard these milestones primarily as encounters and affirmations of the path they have chosen.

Erik Schumann plays a violin by Domenico Montagnana, made in Venice around 1733 and generously loaned by a private collection. Ken Schumann plays a mid-eighteenth-century Italian violin, kindly made available to him by a private lender. Matthew McDowell plays a viola made especially for him by Frédéric Chaudière in 2025. Mark Schumann plays a cello by Giovanni and Francesco Grancino dating from 1680, generously loaned by the MERITO String Instruments Trust in Vienna.