Ensemble

The Lombardini Quartet was founded in Vienna in 2016, and takes its name from the Venetian virtuoso violinist and composer Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen (1745–1818). In the eighteenth century, she forged a successful career as a professional musician – a truly exceptional achievement for a woman in her day. Lombardini has been a major inspiration behind the creation and development of our own all-female ensemble.

In our first years as a quartet, we were delighted to perform at the donauFESTWOCHEN in the Strudengau and as part of the concert series “Alte Musik im Schloss” in Linz as well as “Frauenstimmen” in Salzburg. Small halls and salons have also provided ideal settings for our quartet’s repertoire. Now we look forward to the resurgence of cultural life after the barren years of the pandemic. We are particularly thrilled about our debut CD: “Lombardini: Six String Quartets”, a complete recording of our namesake’s string quartets, which was released by the label cpo in May 2022.

Our work focuses on the rediscovery and performance of unknown or forgotten musical rarities from the early Classical period. All musicians in the ensemble have years of experience with historically informed performance practice and play with established Baroque ensembles.

Our forays into eighteenth-century printed music have uncovered unpolished gems, which take on new form through our musicological expertise and creative interpretations. The wide range of tonal colours produced by historical string instruments strung with gut strings is ideal for the portrayal of a rich spectrum of affects – from brooding anger to heavenly rapture. We do not shy away from breaking with conventional interpretations, but, on the contrary, deliberately set out to challenge them.