We had our first sight-reading ensemble rehearsal in January 2021. We were emerging from the deeply sad period of the Covid pandemic, when theaters were closed, people were kept apart, and musicians were playing behind screens or into empty halls. That’s how we entered the string quartet world, bringing with us a strong desire to make a change and to bring music back to the hearts of musicians and listeners. At that time we weren’t even thinking about the Goldberg Quartet; nevertheless, we had already discovered our shared love for Bach and his Goldberg Variations, which felt like a first light at the end of the tunnel.
As soon as the idea became a project to invest in, that accumulated resilient energy became our main source of inspiration and naturally transformed into a thoughtful desire to build the closest relationship possible with our audiences, turning our live performances into inclusive listening experiences and erasing the distance between us on stage and the people in the hall.
Every time we perform, we tell stories about the pieces we are playing, speaking from our musicians’ point of view and mixing historical and analytical information with images, emotional suggestions, and small narrative devices. This perspective is also shaped by the international nature of our ensemble. While we feel deeply rooted in the Italian musical tradition, the encounter between Italian and Chinese cultures within the quartet opens a natural dialogue between different artistic sensibilities, enriching the way we listen and make music together.
We greatly enjoy showing how string quartet composition has evolved through social and historical revolutions, or how composers have pursued their personal research in writing music - elevating their popular traditions and transforming them into philosophical reflections or expressions of their passions. Our programs are built on contrasting pieces, yet they are always united under an overall title and theme, sometimes evident, sometimes more subtle.
Being a string quartet is never easy, but it is a great privilege to be challenged by one another day after day, to look at the final goal as a team and to work toward it while respecting each individuality and personality - indeed using these very differences to contribute to a truly unique sound and vision.
This is another thing audiences really enjoy when we are on stage: they perceive both the group and the individual at the same time, and they have the possibility to move from one path to another, following the story of a single character or the whole ensemble.
The Goldberg Quartet is Jingzhi, Giacomo, Matilde, and Martino: four passionate human beings united by a sincere friendship and a profound love for music, living to share it and hoping to make even the smallest difference in someone else’s life.