The Brahms-Gesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein is delighted to award the 2026 Brahms Prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, to the Mandelring Quartet. Founded in 1983 by three very young Schmidt siblings and a friend, the string quartet launched an international career after its first major competition successes, which continues unabated to this day. Tours on both sides of the Atlantic, from New York and Buenos Aires to Manila and Beijing, characterise their artistic life. Her Hambach Music FThe Brahms-Gesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein is delighted to award the 2026 Brahms Prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, to the Mandelring Quartet.
Founded in 1983 by three very young Schmidt siblings and a friend, the string quartet launched an international career following its early successes in major competitions—one that continues unabated to this day. Concert tours on both sides of the Atlantic, from New York and Buenos Aires to Manila and Beijing, characterise their artistic life. The Hambach Music Festival, founded in 1997, and the concert series at the Berlin Philharmonie, launched in 2010, further testify to their outstanding position in the world of music.
Their artistic focus has consistently been Brahms’ chamber music for strings, which the “Mandelrings” have performed in complete cycles on several occasions and recorded on acclaimed CDs. Sir Yehudi Menuhin once described the string quartet genre as “probably Europe’s most important contribution to culture.”
With the Brahms Prize 2026, the Brahms-Gesellschaft honours one of the world’s leading string quartet ensembles, recognised for its exemplary dedication to this important artistic genre.
Founded in 1987, the Brahms-Gesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein has awarded the Brahms Prize annually since 1988 to outstanding personalities and interpreters of classical music. Previous laureates include Leonard Bernstein, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Sabine Meyer, Christoph Eschenbach, Herbert Blomstedt, Midori, and Kent Nagano.
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