„In an age remarkably rich in string quartets of high quality, the Merel Quartet is, in my opinion, one of the very best.“ - Alfred Brendel Commended for their stylistic awareness, maturity of expression and command of form, the Merel Quartet has been captivating audiences since 2002. Known for their vivid performances, the quartet has excited audiences throughout Europe. The Merel Quartet enjoys collaborations with artists such as Juliane Banse, Ruth Ziesak, Jörg Widmann, Denes Varjon, Diemut Poppen, Natalia Gutman, Nobuko Imai and Alfred Brendel. The Merels perform an extensive repertoire spanning three centuries from Bach and Purcell through to contemporary masters like Kurtag, Saariaho and Holliger. They have commissioned and premiered works by David Philip Hefti, Martin Jaggi and Thomas Demenga. Since 2015, the Merel Quartet is the quartet in residence at the chamber music festival „Zwischentöne“ in Engelberg, Switzerland. Guest artists have included Alfred Brendel, Ruth Ziesak, Denes Varjon, Yura Lee, Reto Bieri, Robert Hungerbühler and Marie-Claude Chappuis. Frequent live radio performances on Swiss Radio SRF2 and Radio Suisse Romande as well as German Radio SWR2 have brought the Merel Quartet added recognition. The quartet’s debut album including works by Schumann, Janacek and award-winning Swiss composer David Philip Hefti was praised as the „outstanding CD- Premier of a first-rate quartet“ (Neue Zürich Zeitung am Sonntag).