A Stradivarius is a stringed instrument built by Italian artisan Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) and his family during the 17th and 18th centuries. Of these, instruments made during Stradivari's "golden period" from 1700 to 1720 are believed to be perfectly shaped and to have rich tones. They have exceptional tonal balance across the entire musical range, with both acoustic power and finesse.

The Stradivari Quartett is made up of musicians who bring four Stradivarius creations into perfect harmony, and it will be performing in Korea over three days starting April 25. They will be playing Mozart's String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K. 575, and Barber's "Adagio for Strings."

The ensemble will be joined by Korean pianist Huh Seung-Yeun for the last piece in the concert on all three days. Together with the quartet, she will be playing Schumann's Piano Quintet in E Flat Major, Op. 44.

The first performance will be at the Andong Culture and Art Center on April 25, and the others will be at the Nowon Arts Center on April 26 and at the Seoul Arts Center on April 27.

The Stradivari Quartett was formed in 2007 with support from the Stradivari Habisreutinger, a foundation based in Switzerland that loans out Stradivarius instruments. Current members of the quartet are cellist Maja Weber, violinist Xiaoming Wang and Sebastian Bohre, and violist Lech Antonio Uszynski.

By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Vincero
hlee10@korea.kr