Daniel Strabawa, First Violin
Christian Stadelmann, Second Violin
Neithard Resa, Viola
Dietmar Schwalke, Cello

Hailed as "Four of the Best" by the British press after their debut at Wigmore Hall in London two decades ago, the PHILHARMONIA QUARTET BERLIN has since celebrated a critically acclaimed career, establishing itself among the finest string quartets playing on the world stage today with 20 years of international concerts and a large and diverse discography. Audiences throughout the world have enjoyed the incredible artistry of the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin, from Europe to Asia to North and South America.

Founded in 1984 by the principal concertmaster and string section leaders of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the quartet appears regularly at the world’s most prestigious festivals, concert halls and universities. Annual appearances include performances at the Berlin Festival, the Salzburg Festival, Bath Festival, Wigmore Hall in London, as well as a series of five performances each season presented by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Quartet has toured extensively in Europe, North and South America and the Far East. Their first concert of their world tour in Carnegie Hall last season was an enormous success. In 2006 the Berlin Philharmonia Quartet has been invited by his Excellence Pope Benedikt the XVI to perform at a private concert at the Vatican. The ensemble’s discography is quite extensive including recent recordings of the quartets of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Shostakovich and Reger for the Thorofon Classics label, the latter was awarded the German Record Critics prize. In 2000 and 2003 the Quartet received an Echo Klassik award for Chamber Music written in the 19th century for their most recent Beethoven CDs.

With the sudden death of cellist, Jan Diesselhorst, in February 2009 the Berlin Philharmonia Quartet had to replace one of his members for the first time since the creation of the formation. Dietmar Schwalke, a dear colleague and member of the Berlin Philharmonic has been chosen to continue the work and legacy of Jan Diesselhorst. Together the quartet will once again demonstrate their superb and exceptional quality of ensemble playing throughout the world.

A native of Krakow, Poland, Daniel Strabawa is the Principal Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. After winning many international competitions at a very young age and finishing his studies at his hometown Music Conservatory in the class of Professor Zbigniew Szelezer, he was appointed concertmaster of the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Krakow in 1979. He joined the Berlin Philharmonic violin section in 1983 and was appointed concertmaster of the Orchestra in 1986 under Herbert von Karajan. In addition to his orchestral duties he has built a distinguished career as a soloist and chamber music player. Daniel Strabawa has often appeared as a soloist with the Berlin based orchestras in works by Prokofiev, Weill and Szymanowski and has toured extensively in the United States and Asia. Together with his wife, pianist Elzbieta Strabawa he has given many concerts dedicated to Sonatas and has been an avid supporter and messenger of Karol Szymanowski’s music. Since 1994 Daniel Strabawa has devoted more time to conducting and at the beginning of the 1995/1996 season became music director and conductor of the Capella Bydgostiensis in Bromberg, Germany.

Born in Berlin, Germany, violinist Christian Stadelmann is the youngest member of the quartet. He started taking violin lessons at an early age first with Professor Charlotte Hampe and then later graduated from the Conservatory of Arts in Berlin in the class of Professor Th. Brandis. Christian Stadelmann has won numerous competitions and was a founding member of the German Chamber Academy. After several years with the Young German Academy, he became a member of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1985 and has led the second violins of the Berlin Phil since 1987.

A native of Berlin, Neithard Resa first took violin lessons with Professor Schwalbe in Berlin before continuing his studies in Cologne with Professor Max Rostal. Upon his graduation from the music conservatory, he was awarded a DAAD scholarship (German Foreign Policy Exchange) which gave him the opportunity to study in the United States with Michael Tree from the Guarnieri Quartet. In 1978 he won the Young Artists’ Competition, the German Music Foundation and joined the Berlin Philharmonic as principal viola of the Orchestra that same year.

Dietmar Schwalke was born in Pienneberg, Germany and started taking cello lessons at the age of twelve. He first studied in Hamburg with Arthur Troester, then with Wolfgang Boettcher in Berlin before completing his studies with Pierre Fournier. In 1981 Dietmar Schwalke made his debut in the Berlin Philharmonie with the Cello Concerto by Robert Schumann and the Rundfunksinfonieorchester Berlin. Before joining the Berlin Philharmonic in 1994, he was a member of the Kreuzberg String Quartet for six years. In 2009 he joined the Berlin Philharmanic Quartet.