ARTIST PROFILE

Zehetmair String Trio

BIOGRAPHY

Thomas Zehetmair, Ruth Killius, and Rosie Biss are members of the Zehetmair Quartet, which, founded in autumn 1994, embarked upon its first concert tour in spring 1998. Their success resulted in re-engagements by all the promoters, followed by invitations to the United States (2001, 2003, and 2005) and Japan (2002) to complement the Quartet’s annual European tours.

The first CD, featuring Bartók’s Fourth and Hartmann’s First Quartet (ECM), was awarded the Quarterly Prize by the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik, and their latest release, Schumann’s First and Third string quartets (also ECM), won the Gramophone Award (Record of the Year), the Diapason d’Or of the Year, the Dutch Edison Classical Music Award 2004, the Belgian Caecilia Award, and the Klara Award for the best international production of the year.

Thomas Zehetmair was born in Salzburg. He studied at the Mozarteum with his father and later took master classes with Franz Samokyl, Max Rostal, and Nathan Milstein. Early debuts were the Salzburg Festival (1977), the first recording of Mozart’s concertos (1978), and an engagement at the Vienna Musikverein (1979). He is now a regular guest of the world’s finest orchestras, working with distinguished conductors including Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Simon Rattle, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Heinz Holliger. In the last few years Thomas Zehetmair has launched a second career as a conductor. Beginning with the 2002–03 season, he took up his appointment as artistic director of the Northern Sinfonia. Mr. Zehetmair has also made guest appearances as a conductor with many important orchestras around the world.

Ruth Killius studied with Ulrich Koch and Kim Kashkashian. From 1993 to 1996 she was principal viola player of the Camerata Bern. With the Ensemble Contrechamps she has taken part in numerous first performances. Ruth Killius performed as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, and the Basel Symphony Orchestra, and toured in South America and Russia with the Orchestra of the 18th Century. She received invitations to major festivals including the Luzerner Festwochen, the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival. Starting in fall 2005 Ruth Killius will begin her appointment as professor for viola in Bern.

Rosie Biss studied at Cambridge University and spent two years of intensive study at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne under Maria Kliegel. While in Germany, she became principal cello in the Deutsche Kammerakademie and the Kammerphilharmonie Amadé. In the UK, she has been in demand as a chamber musician as well as guest principal positions in the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra, English Sinfonia, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Biss is now co-principal cello in the Northern Sinfonia under the musical direction of Thomas Zehetmair