They became the first West German musicians to play in Volgograd ( Stalingrad), in 1973, in concerts commemorating the events of 1943. for complete recordings of the Schubert and Cherubini string quartets.Īfter this they undertook tours around the world, in North and South America, Africa, all European countries, the Near East and Far East, getting as far as Novosibirsk in Russia. They obtained the first prize of the String Quartet Foundation sponsored by German industry in 1970, and in 1972 they entered into a further contract with D.G.G. record company, and spent 25 days that year making recordings for radio and commercial release. In 1969 the group signed a five-year contract with the D.G.G. In 1969 they gave 105 concerts throughout the world, and had their first television appearance.Ĭontract with Deutsche Grammophon Then, giving up their orchestral positions to concentrate solely on the Quartet, they began touring in 1967 and in 1968 performed in seven European countries. In 1966 the group gave its first recital, won a prize in the Villa-Lobos-Quartet competition in Rio de Janeiro, represented West Germany at the World Congress of Jeuness Musicale in Paris, and, most influentially for their future success, won the Prix américain as the best quartet at the Geneva International Congress of Musical Performance. Gerhard Voss and Buck were members of the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra. Cellist Buck is a Swabian who studied in Düsseldorf and Freiburg and with Ludwig Hoelscher in Stuttgart. They studied with Sandor Végh, and Hermann continued as a pupil of Ulrich Koch, becoming solo violist of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. He won the International Chamber Music Competition in Venice in 1962 and became concertmaster of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra the next year. Leader Melcher of Hamburg studied with Erich Röhn and with both Pina Carmirelli and Arrigo Pelliccia of the Boccherini Quintet in Rome. The name Melos, an ancient Greek word for singing, and the root of the word melody, was suggested by the combination of the names Melcher and Voss, to indicate their purpose as distinct individuals seeking musical harmony together.

Melos Quartett Stuttgart was founded in October 1965 by four young members of well-known German chamber orchestras. It also went by the name Melos Quartett Stuttgart, partly to distinguish itself from the equally prominent chamber group the Melos Ensemble of London. The Melos Quartet was a much-recorded, Stuttgart-based string quartet active from 1965 until 2005, when its first violinist died. Intercord, Deutsche Grammophon, Harmonia Mundi, Beyer Records, BIS, Hännsler Classics, Tower Records (Japan releases), SWR Digital releases

Melos Quartet (from L to R: H.Voss, W.Melcher, P.Buck, G.Voss) in 1977

Sibelius string quartet in e flat major