Ugledni Henschel kvartet sa sjedištem u  Münchenu osnovan je 1994, te  2019. godine obilježava srebrnu, dvadesetipetu  obljetnicu djelovanja. 

Već svojim prvim nastupom u Hrvatskoj, na  66. Dubrovačkim ljetnim igrama, ugledni Henschelkvartet sa sjedištem u Münchenu, koji je 2014. godine proslavio dvadesetu obljetnicu djelovanja, osvojio je nagradu Orlando HRT-a za 2015. godinu, uz dojmljivo obrazloženje ocjenjivačkoga suda za glazbeni dio programa: Oni su na tragu naslova jedne od njihovih europskih praizvedbi, a s pomoću vlastita vrhunskog zalaganja iskazali sve moguće „vizije i čuda“ što ih svojim slušateljima može ponuditi glazba. Bili su čas lirski sjetni, čas šarmantno duhoviti, čas dramatski uznemireni. To je u svakom slučaju bio jedan od najviših umjetničkih dosega u sveukupnoj glazbeničkoj povijesti Dubrovačkih ljetnih igara.

             Godine 1994., kada se violončelist Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj pridružio članovima osnivačima Christophu, Markusu i Moniki Henschel, započela je međunarodna karijera Henschel kvarteta. Već godinu dana kasnije Kvartet je osvojio brojne nagrade na međunarodnim natjecanjima u Evianu, Banffu i Salzburgu, a sljedeće godine osvojio je prvu nagradu i zlatnu medalju na Međunarodnom natjecanju komorne glazbe u Osaki.  Uspješni debiji u svjetskim glazbenim prijestolnicama, uključujući hvaljeni BBC-jev prijenos uživo, kada su nastupili kao zamjena za Kvartet Juilliard, odveli su ih u sam vrh međunarodne komorne glazbe. O tome svjedoče i brojni pozitivni komentari, poput ovoga objavljenog u Los Angeles Timesu: Ovo je, bez sumnje, jedan od najboljih sastava na svijetu, sjajan gudački kvartet.

             Glazbeno putovanje Kvarteta obilježeno je brojnim iznimnim događajima. Tako je nastupio na službenoj svečanosti otvaranja Biblioteke Anna-Amalia u Weimaru (na popisu UNESCO-ve svjetske kulturne baštine), obnovljene nakon katastrofalnog požara 2004. godine te putovao u Bruxelles kao ambasador kulture Savezne Republike Njemačke.  U ožujku 2010. Kvartet je imao čast nastupiti u Vatikanu, u nazočnosti Pape Benedikta XVI.  Redoviti gosti u kraljevskoj palači u Madridu, članovi Kvarteta svirali su na četiri Stradivarijeva glazbala iz kraljevske zbirke. U lipnju 2012. Henschel kvartet pozvan je da, kao prvi europski gudački kvartet u posljednjih dvadeset godina, izvede sve Beethovenove gudačke kvartete u prestižnoj koncertnoj dvorani Suntory u Tokiju. Iste je godine violistica Monika Henschel postala predsjednicom novoosnovane Udruge gudačkih kvarteta Njemačke, a 2013. godine Christoph Henschel imenovan je počasnim profesorom na Sveučilištu u Augsburgu. Među najvažnije događaje u prošloj i tekućoj sezoni ubrajaju se  nastupi u Londonu, Amsterdamu, New Yorku (Carnegie Hall), Washingtonu DC (Nacionalna galerija), Yokohami i Tokiju (Sveučilište Geidai). Snimke Kvarteta nagrađene su brojnim nagradama, uključujući  nagradu njemačke kritike (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik) te s nekoliko nagrada za nosač zvuka godine (IMW). Njihove nosače zvuka preporučuju ugledne tiskovine, kao što su Gramophone Magazine, The Sunday Times i Süddeutsche Zeitung.

             U pripremi je nosač zvuka s djelima suvremenog američkog skladatelja Christophera Theofanidisa. Ansambl redovito prihvaća pozive za održavanje  predavanja i seminara na uglednim svjetskim institucijama, od Sveučilišta Yale u SAD-u do Royal Northern College of Music u Engleskoj i Sveučilišta u Melbourneu. Kvartet kontinuirano surađuje s Ministarstvom kulture Bavarske na glazbenim projektima za mlade u Münchenu. Već deset godina Kvartet daje svoj doprinos kao ambasador međunarodne organizacije SOS Dječje selo.                                                              

O njihovim izvedbama ugledni portal Seen & Heard International piše: “Ukoliko ikad budete imali prigodu poslušati recital Henschel Quarteta, iskoristite je svakako.  Sviranje gudačkog kvarteta rijetko može biti bolje od njihovoga” dok je Musicweb-International.com  napisao, “…svirali su s vrhunskim povjerenjem svirača koji njuše svaku notu..”., The New York Times opisao je njihov nastup 2010. kao “…nešto prelijepo…toplo nijansiranje odsvirano s neodoljivom energijom i dobrim raspoloženjem”.  O snimci njihove svjetske praizvedbe Bruchovog Gudačkog kvarteta u E duru uz violista Kazuki Sawa, nagrađenoj od International Musicweb-a kao CD godine za 2009., portal je napisao: “…još jedan izvanredan uspjeh koji bi trebao odmah biti rasprodan…” i “…Henschel Kvartet…vrhunska izvedba, puna energije, misterija i ljepote.”  O izvedbama u Carnegie hall-u tijekom 2013. godine, skladatelj John Corigliano je u osvrtu na koncert napisao: “Veličanstveni Henschel kvartet svira kao da su jedna osoba. Oni su strastveni, točni i glazbeno sofisticirani. Bio sam zapanjen kvalitetom njihovih nastupa.”

Godine 2013. ansambl je nastupio u Velikoj Britaniji na Lake District Summer Music Festivalu koji je uključio i europsku praizvedbu djela Christophera Theofanidesa Vizije i čuda za gudački kvartet, o kojoj je portal Seen & Heard International napisao: “Tijekom ovog fantastičnog  recitala upadljiva je bila savršena (nedirnuta) intonacija Henschel kvarteta udružena sa čvrstim i nepopustljivim jedinstvom glazbenika tijekom širokih (bezbrojnih) kontrasta i tegobno virtuoznih zahtjeva djela. Rijetkost je naići na kvalitetu izvedbe poput ove, pa ako u budućnosti budete imali priliku čuti recital Henschel kvartet, iskoristite je odmah.”

Tijekom 2014. Henschel Kvartet koncertirao u Kaliforniji, održao turneje po Japanu i Danskoj te je nastupio u Londonu u kultnom St John’s Smith Square-u  

U 2014.-oj godini kvartet je obilježio i svoju 20-tu obljetnicu  te je izveo i memorijalni koncert za skladatelja  Hansa Wernera Henzea, preminulog 2012. godine, izvodeći njegov Prvi gudački kvartet kao dio programa Minhenskoga bijenala. 

Poveznica na filmski portret o HENSCHEL KVARTETU snimljen prilikom njihove petnaeste obljetnice djelovanja: 

http://www.nmz.de/media/video/henschel-quartet-a-portrait

http://www.hrt.hr/322946/organizacija/kvartetu-henschel-urucena-hrt-ova-nagrada-orlando

“The Henschel Quartet is being awarded the Orlando prize for music 2015 for one of the highest  artistic  reaches in the overall musical history of the Dubrovnik Festival”

Jury announcement

The year 1994 marked the foundation of the Henschel Quartett’s international career, when cellist Mathias Beyer-Karlshøj joined the founding members Christoph, Markus, and Monika Henschel, and the quartet devoted itself exclusively to chamber music.  In 1995 the quartet won multiple prizes at the international competitions of Evian, Banff, and Salzburg, and the following year won 1^st prize and the gold medal at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.  Successful debuts in the world’s musical capitals, including an acclaimed BBC live broadcast standing in for the Juilliard Quartet, led their way to the forefront of international chamber music.  “This is, no question, one of the best groups in the world, a great string quartet.” (Los Angeles Times).

In February 2016 the quartet welcomed the celebrated violinist Catalin Desaga as a new member.

The quartet’s musical journey has included many remarkable highlights.  The Henschel Quartett played at the official re-opening of the Anna-Amalia Library in Weimar (a UNESCO World Heritage site), and travelled to Brussels as a Cultural Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany.  In March 2010 the quartet was privileged to perform at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI.  The quartet has regularly been invited to the Royal Palace of Madrid to perform on the four Stradivari of the royal collection.  In June 2012 the Henschel Quartett was invited, as the first European quartet in twenty years, to perform Beethoven’s complete string quartets in the prestigious Suntory Hall in Tokyo.  In the same year Monika Henschel became the president of the newly-formed Association of German String Quartets, and in 2013 Christoph Henschel was appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Augsburg. 

Highlights of last season and the current one include appearances in London, Amsterdam, Munich, Yokohama and Tokyo (Geidai University).

The Henschel Quartett’s recordings have been awarded many prizes, including the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and several CD of the Year Awards (IMW).  Their CDs have been recommended in such prominent titles as Gramophone Magazine, the Sunday Times, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Forthcoming is a CD of works by Christopher Theofanidis.

The Henschel Quartett regularly accepts invitations to teach at world-class institutions, from Yale University in the USA to the Royal Northern College of Music in England and the University of Melbourne in Australia.  The quartet is also engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in relation to youth music projects in the quartet’s home city of Munich. 

Since 2006 the Henschel Quartett has been contributing as an Ambassador of SOS Children’s Villages. 

The link to the film portrait  about the HENSCHEL QUARTET made in occasion of their 15-th anniversary: 

http://www.nmz.de/media/video/henschel-quartet-a-portrait

Our Reviewers’ Choices for Best Musical Events of 2013
The Henschel Quartet at the RNCM Chamber Music Festival, Manchester in January gave a remarkable performance of Beethoven’s String Quartets Op. 59/1 ‘Razumovsky’ and Op. 132. I can’t imagine chamber music playing better than this from this world class Munich based quartet. http://seenandheard-international.com/2013/01/complete-beethoven-trios-and-quartets-off-to-a-great-start/
Michael Cookson, Seen and Heard International January 7 2014

Janacek . Schulhoff . Sibelius
The Henschel Quartet have always known their own minds and so it is hardly that they should have put together this exciting programme of, while not full-blown outcasts, composers who hang moodily around on the fringe of chamber music. The First String Quartet of Ervin Schulhoff is one of the group’s signature pieces; and whereas his music may be largely unperformed and recorded these days – despite his having been one of the brightest stars in Germany’s pre-war firmament – this piece (written in 1924, just as he headed into his most prolific period) is the least unknown of his works.Despite being tricky to listen to – it is an odd mixture of theremin-ghostly effects that wouldn’t be incongruous in the Ghostbusters soundtrack, and block playing that sounds like some sort of grotesque hoedown –the Henschel pull out its challenging phrases to just the right side of indulgent, disclosing what feels like a keen sense of altruism for the listener and an honest desire to expose the beauty of the music. That the Janáček isn’t abandoned enough for my taste, although its reverential (not a word often associated with the Henschel) care and attention to the micro-aspects of the phrasing certainly create a boundary that allows the composer’s unique creativity, is a slightly disappointingly surprising revelation on this disc. But the open heart that drives the Schulhoff, and even the Sibelius (which functions here more as an insight into the symphonies than a particularly interesting free-standing piece of chamber music), is more than enough to recommend it.
Gramophone January 2014 Caroline Gill

Interview – The Henschel Quartet´s short list of advice to young performers
1. During rehearsals step out from the group and listen to your colleagues from the audience´s position. It´s ideal for developing a critical ear
2. In fast movements, long notes should be filled with life. In slow movements, short notes should never be rushed.
3. You should always play as if your life depends on it.  If the performer is not 100 per cent focused on the dramatic flow of the music they´re playing, how can they hope to communicate it to the audience?
4. Musicians today need so many skills other than playing their instrument well – managing festivals, building relationships with fans, releasing their own recordings. But if you happen to have a vision, make it happen – don´t wait for someone else to do it for you.
The Strad October 2013 issue

The elite group of string quartets today
… maintain their position together with the Henschel Quartet at the head of the elite group of string quartets on the world stage today.
www.seenandheard-international.com/2013/03/17/glorious-playing-from-an-elite-string-quartet
17.03.2013 Seen and Heard International