SPRING STRING QUARTET

Spring String Quartet

"Train Songs"

"...grabs the listener and twists him around until all his concepts of how violin music should sound drop."

Train songs are men's songs, winter travel on rolling wheels, the ways of lonely travelers that mark every train stop with a love-affair. Love stories end in these songs, topics of longing, of crushed hopes, of having been rejected and of leaving. Railway lines and telegraph wires become note lines into infinity. Even today the railroad makes and carries music. Jazz was born - many believe - in it, with its immortal rhythm, and the five/four came from the rattling of wheels.

Railway stations are meeting places, places of decisions, and farewells. Relationships and baggage are left behind; worries are tossed out the window. Railway stations are places of culture, sacral architecture, film scenes and venues with a special flair.
As well known and hip as some of our train songs are, Darol Anger, Thomas Mandel, Michael Radanovics und Gernot Wolfgang, the arrangers of this music, lift them clever onto an artistic level. The musicians have mastered the splits between virtuoso classical performance and the rough tone of the ballad singers.

The Spring String Quartet - four young men from Austria - meet already during their studies and perform since 1997 under this name. It is the only Austrian string quartet that can fiddle, dance and sing, capture the groove of the most offbeat rhythm combinations and finely counterbalance the most exact harmonies. Irene Suchy, translated by David Jessup.

P r e s s c l i p s

The Train Songs CD is simply FABULOUS. It has that Mark O'Connor sound that is becoming so popular lately, and it really works well--charming, moving, perfect in every way. I chose it for drive time, but this will clearly work just about anywhere. And now I get to play a Tom Waits tune on air--how cool is THAT? Many thanks for sending it to us. I am most grateful. Julia Figueras

"The Austrian SPRING STRING QUARTET is equal to the Balanescu-Quartett in their playing esprit and ability." (OÖ Nachrichten, Irene Judmayer, 16.10.2002)

"..... has the understanding to move their listeners on the one hand with wild rock and pop sounds in almost euphoric enthusiasm just to then move them to tears with jazz and blues rhythms." "....... fantastically easy listening on a high musical level is being offered here." (Neues Volksblatt, Ingrid Feilmayr, 16.10.2002)

"Although the musicians appear as a classical string quartet group, their concerts are miles away from chamber and other older music. The SPRING STRING QUARTET demonstrates that not only rock bands can play grooving and powerful ............... actually grasps the listeners at the hair and brings its head in a whirl until it has knocked down all prejudices with regard to 'violin music'. (Der Perger)

"..... the strings surprised and filled its spectators with enthusiasm, which called for the one encore after the other ............" (Pongauer Nachrichten)

"The SPRING STRING QUARTET breaks up into an unknown country with its 'Train Songs' (CCn'C Records), kidnaps its passenger into a world which surpasses the ear. Classics from the rock music are given new facets. Virtuoso, gripping, different, weird and in any event harmonious. The 13 train songs captures many moods, breaks the barriers of style, embeds itself between pop, rock, jazz and blues, extends the hearing horizon and does not let go of a person. A pearl within the sound desert." (OÖ Nachrichten)

The cellist sometimes mimes the jazz base singer, then the rock base guitar or is simply a typical string quartet cellist; and the others fiddle and scratch to their heart's content, then again shows something of their classical roots and allows themselves to be stimulated by all directions. The four gentlemen are - which is still not natural with string quartets - competent improvisers, but the fascination clearly lies in the ensemble playing. Like a train, everything joins forces." (Rondo Magazin)

Similar to the renown Kronos Quartet, the men of the Austrian Spring String Quartet brushes aside familiar themes with experimental furor and a great deal of drive. This music would splendidly match a beautifully weird road movie. This sets the groove, sorry the train rolling!" (Stereoplay 9/2002 Matthias Inhoffen)

"... convinces the musical swing of the Spring String Quartet." (FonoForum 12/02)

".......... and has therewith landed an inspiring album". (JazzThing Nov. 2002)

Rocking - with strong bowing, tearing plucking and clicking hits, mostly in fast movements, full of wit and irony, sometimes provocative to the limit of lasciviousness, at other times melancholic to the border of lamentation, piercing harmonies, always surprising in their improvisations the four instrumentalists fiddle any classical purist out of their seats.
(Jazzpodium 12/2002, Matthias Weiller)

...well known pieces are well arranged and gain a new magic. They join a racing trainride over 13 stations yet leaving enough time for great emotions.
(Neues Volksblatt, 06.07.2002, Tobias C. Führer)

Absolutely worth listening to!
Highest grade (4 points = very good)
(Concerto 3/2002, Karl Gedlicka)

...highly flexible string quartet. A precise and aggressive unit, the Spring String Quartet ate this boppish material up with bold exchanges of eights and a genuine sense of swing feel. Their slapping and tapping of the strings and bodies of their instruments attained the desired percussive backbeat effect, giving this precious-sounding music an edge.
(JazzTimes, July 2003, Bill Milkowski)

Produced by Christian Wirth, based on an idea by Irene Suchy.
Recorded 2001 at Studio Weinberg, Kefermarkt/Austria. Engineered by Thomas Mandel
Mixed and mastered by Reinhard Brunner and SSQ at ATS-Tonstudio, Molln, Austria

Spring String Quartet
www.ssq.at
e-mail: info@ssq.at
Phone: 43 (0)664 3756450
Fax: 43 (0)664 1264650

Booking:
Maxian Media services - Jeff Maxian
Phone: 43 (0)664 1214134
e-mail: maxian@a1.net