Russian Generations 3

After the successful releases of parts 1 and 2 (being named “CD of the month” by Dutch Radio and a praiseful review in Strad magazine), the Ruysdael Quartet continue their journey with part 3 of their Russian Generations series. The new recor- ding features the third string quartets of Tchaikovsky and Gabriel Prokofiev, as well as the magnificent Sonata for two violins by Sergei Prokofiev.

Tchaikovsky’s third quartet is a rarely-performed masterpiece with one of the most overwhelmingly emotional slow movements the composer ever wrote. This is juxtaposed by Sergei Prokofievs op. 56, a dialogue which alternates between unabashed virtuo- sic one-upmanship and intimate murmurings. Gabriel Prokofiev’s third quartet, like its predecessors, is a thrilling work with a gripping rhythmical drive. Here the instruments are stretched even further to the extremes of their capabilities, creating a fascinating sound world.

The Ruysdael Quartet was formed in 1996. They studied with the Amadeus Quartet, Hagen Quartet, Quatuor Mosaïques and over a two-year period with the Alban Berg Quartet at the “Hochschule für Musik”, Cologne. Since then they have been regularly invited to take part in festivals and masterclasses, resulting in perfor- mances not only in Europe but also in Australia and the USA.

The Ruysdael Quartet received a full scholarship to attend the ‘In- ternational Chamber Music Academy Prague-Vienna- Budapest’ (‘99-’01) where they won the Bela Bartok Prize (1999), the Alban Berg Prize (2000) and the Tomastik-Infeld Prize (2001) with an invitation to make a recording for the Austrian National Radio.

The quartet were winners of the ‘Charles Hennen International Chamber Music Competition 2000’ in Holland and were awarded the ‘Prix de la SACEM’ at the International String Quartet Com- petition 2001 in Bordeaux. In March 2002 they received the Press Prize and the AVRO Prize in the ‘Vriendenkrans’ compe- tition in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. More recently they were recipients of the prestigious “Kersjes van de Groenekan” Prize, a major musical award in the Netherlands.