The Melos Quartet was a much-recorded, Stuttgart-based string quartet active from 1965 until 2005, when its first violinist died. It also went by the name Melos-Quartett-Stuttgart, partly to distinguish itself from the equally prominent chamber group the Melos Ensemble of London.
Origins and activities Melos Quartett Stuttgart was founded in October 1965 by four young members of well-known German chamber orchestras. The name Melos, an ancient Greek word for singing, and the root of the word melody, was suggested by the combination of the names Melcher and Voss, to indicate their purpose as distinct individuals seeking musical harmony together.Information in this section is drawn from Ursula von Rauchhaupt, 'Melos Quartett Stuttgart', in Franz Schubert, Die Streichquartette (Polydor International GmbH, 1975, DGG Discs 2563 425–431), Insert.
Leader Melcher of Hamburg studied with Erich Röhn and with both Pina Carmirelli and Arrigo Pelliccia of the Boccherini Quintet in Rome. He won the International Chamber Music Competition in Venice in 1962 and became concertmaster of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra the next year.This detail is from the article by Joseph Stevenson, in Allmusic. The Voss brothers are Rhinelanders. They studied with Sandor Végh, and Hermann continued as a pupil of Ulrich Koch, becoming solo violist of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Cellist Buck is a Swabian who studied in Düsseldorf and Freiburg and with Ludwig Hoelscher in Stuttgart. Gerhard Voss and Buck were members of the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra.
The group made its début as a string quartet in January 1966. Its first recitals produced encouraging results – a grant from the "Musikleben" Foundation, assistance from the "Concerts by Young Artists" section of the German "Musikrat", participation in the Paris World Congress of the "Jeunesses Musicales", a "Prix Américain" and nomination as the best Quartet at the International Musical Competition held in Geneva; in 1967 the group won a prize in the "Heitor Villa-Lobos Quartet Competition" in Rio de Janeiro.
Very quickly engagements came and it was not long before the four members gave up their positions as solo players in various chamber orchestras becoming free-lance artists in order to concentrate entirely on their work as an ensemble. This was in September 1967. Stuttgart then became the centre of their activities and they rented a wooden hut belonging to a kindergarten, renovating it themselves before they used it as their studio. in 1969 only they gave 105 concerts throughout the world, and had their first television appearance.
They have made various tours in the Middle East, South America (1971), as well as making appearances in all European countries, the Near East and Far East, in North America, Canada, Japan, Australia and South Africa (1972),Melos quartet 1972, during an acclaimed tour of Southern Africa getting as far as Novosibirsk in Russia. They became the first West German musicians to play in Volgograd (Stalingrad), in 1973, in concerts commemorating the events of 1943. By 1975, when the Schubert integral recordings were completed and issued, the Quartet also held a teaching post at the Stuttgart School of Music.
Among others, the Quartet collaborated with Arthur Rubinstein, Mstislav Rostropovich, Georg Solti, Narciso Yepes, Piero Farulli, Gérard Caussé, Michel Portal and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
After 28 years, Gerhard Voss left the quartet in 1993 due to "irreconcilable differences of opinion" with the other members; he was replaced by Ida Bieler. A "Les Adieux" farewell tour was planned for 2005, but it was canceled due to the death of Wilhelm Melcher just before his 65th birthday, when the quartet was disbanded.
Personnel name dates role period Wilhelm Melcher (*1940 – †2005) 1st violin (founder & leader) 1965–2005 Gerhard Voss (*1939) 2nd violin (founder) 1965–1993 Ida Bieler (*1950) 2nd violin 1993–2005 Hermann Voss (*1934) viola (founder) 1965–2005 Peter Buck (*1937 – †2024) cello (founder) 1965–2005
Instruments During the period of activity, the instruments of the quartet members were: 1st violin: Matteo Goffriller (18th Cent.) until 1972 | Antonio Stradivari (1720) [a loan for the 1971 South America Tour] | Domenico Montagnana (1731) from 1972 to 1975 | Carlo Bergonzi (c.1743–47) from 1975 to 2005; 2nd violin: Michele Angelo Bergonzi (18th Cent.) until 1972 | Carlo Annibale Tononi (18th Century) from 1972 to 1975 | Giovanni Battista Rogeri (1701) from 1975; viola: Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi (18th Cent.); cello: Francesco Ruggieri (1682).
Honors and awards 1966: Winner of the "International Geneva Music Competition" 1967: Prizewinner of the "Concurso Internacional de Quarteto de Cordas Villa-Lobos" (Villa-Lobos String Quartet Competition) in Rio de Janeiro 1990: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Documentaries Das Melos-Quartett – Vier Leben für die Kammermusik (Four Lives for Chamber Music) The members of the Melos Quartet talk about their lives and experiences around music. As a common theme, they perform Franz Schubert's Quartet No.15 – Film by Klaus Kirschner (1988) Melos String Quartet | Japanese TV Interview Interview with the Melos Quartet on Japanese TV prior to their concert with pieces by Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven. (Live in Japan 26/3/1990)
Recording career Alongside a record deal with the "Intercord Ton GmbH" label (Intercord) started in 1968, in 1969 the group signed a five-year contract with the "Deutsche Grammophon GmbH" (DGG) record company, and spent 25 days that year making recordings for SWR radio and commercial release. They obtained the first prize of the String Quartet Foundation sponsored by German industry in 1970, and in 1972 they entered into a further contract with DGG for the complete recordings of Schubert, Cherubini, and later, the Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann and Beethoven string quartets.
By 1975 the group had built up a repertoire of 120 works, including the complete Beethoven, Schubert, Cherubini, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Janáček quartets, and works by Haydn, Mozart, Hugo Wolf, Pfitzner, Verdi, Donizetti, Debussy, Smetana, Kodály, Hindemith, Bartók, Alban Berg, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Witold Lutosławski, Milko Kelemen, Robert Wittinger and Josef Maria Horváth. They made a conscious decision to have a wide-ranging repertoire in order to avoid getting stuck to any particular period.
For Deutsche Grammophon label, they taped Schubert's String Quintet with Mstislav Rostropovich as second cellist; Mozart's 10 Great String Quartets, the complete cycles of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Cherubini and Schubert; they recorded the complete Beethoven cycle twice (1969/70 for Intercord and 1983/85 for DGG), and later the two Janáček's Quartets. Again for DGG, with violists Franz Beyer and Piero Farulli, they recorded the 6 String Quintets by Mozart. They taped also many unusual repertoire for SWR Radio, which has been since released digitally.
In the early 1990s the Melos-Quartett signed a second important recording contract with the "Harmonia Mundi" label, where from 1993 onwards they recorded exclusively with the new line-up featuring Ida Bieler on 2nd violin.
Violist Hermann Voss and cellist Peter Buck, are featured in the recording with the (German string quartet founded in 1985 in Cologne) of the 2 Quintets and the 2 Sextets for strings by Brahms (rec: Deutschlandfunk, Kammermusiksaal, 2007/2008 | 4CD box – Hänssler Classic HC16084 ℗2018).
Complete Recordings
LP & CD releases (alphabetical order by Composer) BARTÓK – String Quartet No.3, Sz. 85, BB 93 (**first recording made for DGG** [+ KODALY; WEINER] | rec: 2–3.X.1969 | LP – DGG 139 450 ℗1970 | Japan reprint: CD – Tower Records PROC-2102 ℗2017) BEETHOVEN – Die Streichquartette -Gesamtausgabe- ('1st'-rec: Südwest-Tonstudio Jansen, Stuttgart, 1969/70 | 12LP set – Intercord 29319-1 ℗1970; Intercord 65977-1 "Special Edition" ℗1970) Die frühen Streichquartette – The Early String Quartets: Op.18 Nr.1-6 / Op.14 No.1 (3LP – Intercord 955-09 Z/1-3 [without Op.14/1] ℗1969 | reprint: 4LP – Intercord 185.750 ℗1970 | 3CD – Intercord INT 885.750 ℗1986) Die mittleren Streichquartette – The Middle String Quartets: Op.59 Nr.1–3 / Op.74 / Op.95 (4LP – Intercord 959-09 Z/1-4 ℗1969 | reprint: 4LP – Intercord 185.751 ℗1970 | 3CD – Intercord INT 885.751 ℗1986) Die späten Streichquartette – The Late String Quartets: Op.127 / Opp.130–133 / Op.135 (5LP – Intercord 964-09 Z/1-5 [with Op.14/1] ℗1970 | reprint: 4LP – Intercord 185.752 ℗1970 | 3CD – Intercord INT 885.752 ℗1987) BEETHOVEN – Die Streichquartette ('2nd'-rec: Zentralsaal, Bamberg, 1983/85 | 10LP / 9CD – DGG separate releases | 9CD boxed-set "Limited Edition – 25 Years" – DGG 431 094-2 ℗1990 | Japan reprint: 8CD box – Tower Records POCG-9141/8 ℗1991) The Melos Quartett Stuttgart (Wilhelm Melcher, Gerhard Voss, Hermann Voss, Peter Buck) recorded all Beethoven string quartets twice: first, at Südwest Tonstudio Heinz Jansen, Stuttgart in 1969/70, for Intercord label, then again at Zentralsaal, Bamberg, in 1983/85 for DGG, after having "upgraded" to better instruments. Die frühen Streichquartette: Op.18 Nos.1–6 (rec: VI., VII. & IX.1983 | 3LP – DGG 410 971-1 | 3CD – DGG 410 971-2 ℗1984) Die mittleren Streichquartette: Op.14 No.1 / Op.59 Nos.1–3 / Op.74 / Op.95 (rec: II. & VII.1984 | 3LP – DGG 415 342-1 | 3CD – DGG 415 342-2 ℗1985) Die späten Streichquartette: Opp.127-130-131-132-135 / "Great Fugue" Op.133 (rec: XII.1984 & V.1985 [Opp.130–132] | 4LP – DGG 415 676-1 | 3CD – DGG 415 676-2 ℗1986) BOCCHERINI – Quintets for Guitar and Strings: No.4 in D major, G.448 "Fandango" / No.9 in C major, G.453 "La ritirata di Madrid" / No.7 in E minor, G.451 (+ Narciso Yepes, guitar; Lucero Tena, castanets | rec: Hamburg-Rahlstedt, Polydor Studios, III.1970 | LP – DGG 2530 069 ℗1971 | reprint: CD – DGG Resonance 429 512-2 ℗1990; CD – DGG Classikon 449 852-2 ℗1997; CD – DGG The Originals 477 7112 ℗2007) BRAHMS – String Quartets: No.3 in B-flat major, Op.67 / No.1 in C minor, Op.51/1 ('1st'-rec: 1972 | [Op.51/1 only + HAYDN Op.76/4 in B-flat major, Hob.III:78 "Sunrise" | sample copy – not for sale (grey label) LP – DGG 642 014 ℗1973] LP – DGG 2530 345 ℗1973) BRAHMS – Complete String Quartets: No.1 in C minor, Op.51/1 / No.2 in A minor, Op.51/2 / No.3 in B-flat major, Op.67 ('2nd'-rec: Zentralsaal, Bamberg, V.1986 [2 + SCHUMANN 2,3], VI.1987 [1,3 + SCHUMANN 1] | 3CD – DGG 423 670-2 ℗1988 | reprint: 3CD – Newton Classics 8802051 ℗2011) BRAHMS – String Quintet No.2 in G major, Op.111 / Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op.115 (+ Gérard Caussé, 2nd viola & Michel Portal, clarinet | rec: VII.1990 | CD – Harmonia Mundi HMC 9013149 ℗1991 | reprint: CD – Harmonia Mundi HMA 1951349 ℗2001) BRUCKNER – String Quintet in F major, WAB.112 (+ Enrique Santiago, 2nd viola | '1st'-rec: II.1969 [+ WOLF] | LP – Vox Candide CE 31014 ℗1969; LP – Intercord INT 160.806 ℗1975; LP – Vox Turnabout TVC 37005 ℗1979 | 2LP set – Intercord 180.854 [+ SMETANA; JANACEK 2] ℗1982 | reprint: CD – Intercord INT 820.744 [+ HAYDN Op.20/4] ℗1988) BRUCKNER – String Quintet in F major, WAB.112 / Intermezzo in D minor, WAB.113 (+ Enrique Santiago, 2nd viola | '2nd'-rec: V.1992 | CD – Harmonia Mundi HMC 901421 ℗1993) CHERUBINI – Complete String Quartets: No.1 in E-flat major (1814) / No.2 in C major (1829) / No.3 in D minor (1834) / No.4 in E major (1835) / No.5 in F major (1835) / No.6 in A minor (1837) (rec: VI.1973 [1,2]; IV.1974 ; X.1974 ; II.1975 [4,6] | 3LP set – DGG Archiv Produktion 2723 044 ℗1976 | reprint: 3CD box – DGG 429 185-2 ℗1989; 3CD box – Brilliant Classics 93891 ℗2009; CD #29-30-31 in: 50CD box – DGG Archiv Produktion 00289 479 5555 ℗2016) DEBUSSY – String Quartet in G minor, Op.10/L.85 (rec: Liederhalle, Stuttgart, II.1979 [+ RAVEL] | LP – DGG 419 750 ℗1979 | reprint: CD – DGG The Originals 479 0529 [+ KODALY] ℗2012)