The Balanescu Quartet

Born on 11 June 1954 in Bucharest, Romania, to the son of a university professor, Alexander Balanescu spent his childhood there until his family relocated to Israel in 1969. Two years afterward he moved to London to study violin, supplementing his training with time at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1987 he founded the Balanescu Quartet, whose original lineup comprised Clare Connors on second violin, Bill Hawkes on viola and Caroline Dale on cello. Earlier partnerships with Michael Nyman and Gavin Bryars had already taken shape, and the group later interpreted pieces by John Cage, Kevin Volans and Robert Moran. Their first major innovation arrived in 1992 with Possessed on Mute Records, an album of acoustic string versions of five Kraftwerk compositions, accompanied by the declaration: ‘There have been violins for two hundred years, and we’re trying to bring them into harmony with modern compositions.’ Luminitza appeared in 1994, its title taken from the Romanian word for ‘small light’. Balanescu viewed the name as a symbol of the illumination that drew him back toward the homeland his family had left in 1989: ‘A little bit of hope in the darkness. That even after the downfall of Ceaucescu’s totalitarian regime in 1989 still shrouds Romania.’ The record incorporated samples and programmed percussion and contained only material written by Balanescu and Connors, with Andy Parker on viola and Nick Cooper on cello completing the ensemble. The following year the Balanescu Quartet worked alongside the Luminitza Chamber Orchestra to create the score for Philip Haas’ film Angels & Insects (1995). They also contributed to recordings by Bryars and UK rock band Spiritualized. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Balanescu sustained an intensive workload that included an album of Yellow Magic Orchestra treatments, a complete score for the Italian film Il Partigiano Johnny (2000) and additional quartet projects devoted to classical and avant-garde composers. Maria T, released in 2005, drew inspiration from the iconic Romanian folk singer Maria Tanase. Balanescu collaborated with Austrian video artist Klaus Obermaier on a multimedia live presentation centered on the album.