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„…each individual is a musician of the highest technical ability, but what is more impressive is how they create a completely homogenous and harmonious ensemble. Their honest approach to the works convinces me as intelligent and mature. If this all sounds too serious, allow me to emphasize the group’s joyful and youthful playing…”
Bernard Haitink on the Merel Quartet
Since ist formation in 2002, the Merel Quartet has received unanimous praise. The "Wiener Zeitung" writes:
«This young Zürich ensemble’s music-making is extraordinarily precise and tonally exceedingly well-matched» (August 2008)
and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung praised the quartet for playing «with utmost expressivity and a subtle sense of form, tone and rhetoric» (May, 2007).
The Merel Quartet performs extensively in Europe in such prestigious venues as the Zürich Tonhalle and Wigmore Hall and in such important
festivals as the Salzburger Festspiele, Lucerne Festival, Kunstfest Weimar, the Ittingen Whitsun Festival and the Menuhin Festival Gstaad.
The quartet has collaborated with such artists as Ruth Ziesak, Juliane Banse, Dénes Várjon, Nobuko Imai, Thomas Demenga, Heinz Holliger,
Christoph Schiller, Julian Bliss, Jörg Widmann, the Quatour Ebène and the Quatour Mosaiques.
Acclaimed performances and live radio broadcasts of repertoire spanning Bach to contemporary works by such modern masters as
György Kurtág and Kaija Saariaho attest to the quartet’s versatility. The Merel Quartet’s recently released CD with works by Robert Schumann,
Léoš Janáček and award-winning Swiss composer David Philip Hefti was praised by the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag" as «the outstanding
CD-Premier of a first-rate quartet.»
The Merel Quartet begins ist 2009/2010 season with performances at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad and Murten Classics and finishes with a concert at the
Wigmore Hall in London.
The Merel Quartet is based in Zürich and are represented by
Hochuli Konzert AG, International
Konzertkontor Irene Schwalb, Germany
Central European Music Agency, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland
„It is with great pleasure that I recommend the Merel Quartet, as the latest, most welcome addition to the podiums of the chamber music world. I wish the quartet the recognition they deserve.“
Alfred Brendel, 2006
Mary Ellen Woodside
 Whether as a principal in the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, as a soloist or chamber musician or performing Swiss or Rumanian folk music, Merel primaria Mary Ellen Woodside convinces audiences through her conviction and intensity. She is a much sought after chamber musician, having followed invitations to renowned festivals such as the Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte, Young Artists in Concert in Davos, Menuhin Festival Gstaad and the International Musicians Seminar Open Chamber Music, Prussia Cove among others. Chamber music partners have included Joshua Bell, Tabea Zimmermann, Heinz Holliger, Julian Bliss and Hélène Grimaud. Ms Woodside has performed as a soloist in Switzerland, Germany and the USA, including premiers of violin concerti by Aaron Jay Kernis and Martin Derungs. She has recorded CDs of chamber music by Bohuslav Martinu and Robert Blum and has performed frequently for Swiss Radio.
Mary Ellen studied at the Eastman School of Music with Charles Castleman and won numerous prizes before coming to Europe to continue her studies at the Guildhall in London with Yfrah Neaman. She has coached with such mentors as Sándor Végh, Donald Weilerstein, Isaac Stern, András Schiff, György Kurtág, Robert Levin, and Alfred Brendel. Mary Ellen resides near Zürich with her husband, cellist Rafael Rosenfeld, and their daughter.
Meesun Hong
 Praised by Greg Sandow of the Wall Street Journal as playing „strong and hot,“ American violinist Meesun Hong
enjoys a varied musical life as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She has performed extensively
all over the United States, Europe, and Japan, in such halls as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, Cologne Philharmonie,Vienna Konzerthaus,
and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. She has participated in numerous festivals, including the Aix-en-Provence Festival d’Art et Lyrique, International Music Seminar Open Chamber Music, and Salzburger Mozartwoche. Her degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition at Princeton, followed by Master of Music at the Juilliard School.
In 2001 Ms. Hong received a Fulbright grant to study in Berlin, and then in 2004 also became the recipient of the Harriet Hale
Whoolley Grant in Paris. Her teachers have included Ronald Copes, Robert Mann, Dorothy Delay, Joel Smirnoff,
Donald Weilerstein, and Kurt Sassmannshaus. Ms. Hong was a member of the Zurich Opera House until 2008, when she became leader of the 2nd
Violins in Camerata Bern. She frequently performs with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Alexander Besa
 Violist Alexander Besa has performed extensively as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal throughout Europe, North America and Japan in such renowned venues as the Berliner Festwochen, Concentus Moraviae, Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte, the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad and Prague Spring. He has soloed with the Camerata Bern, Czech Virtuosi, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia and the State Opera of Prague, among others. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Besa has collaborated with such artists as Heinz Holliger, Magdalena Kožená, Bohuslav Matoušek, Ludmila Peterková and ensembles Aria, Stamitz, Wihan and Zehetmair Quartets.
A native of the Czech Republic, Alexander Besa studied at the Brno State Conservatory, the International Menuhin Music Academy and the Music Academy Basel in Switzerland.
An international prizewinner, his CDs with works for Viola and Piano, and his recording of Max Bruch's concerto for clarinet, viola and orchestra were awarded Best Recording of the Year by the Czech music journal „Harmonie.“
Alexander Besa currently serves as solo violist of the Camerata Bern and Lucerne Symphony.
Rafael Rosenfeld
 Cellist Rafael Rosenfeld enjoys a career as a soloist, chamber musician and leading orchestral musician. First prizewinner of the Int. Geneva Competition, he has concertized throughout Europe and Japan and has made numerous radio and television appearances. As a soloist he has performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, MDR Leipzig, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra among others. His chamber music endeavours include collaborations with András Schiff, Dénes Varjon, András Keller, Joshua Bell, Tabea Zimmermann and Heinz Holliger.
Rafael is principal cellist of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and performs regularly with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado and Capella Andrea Barca with András Schiff. In addition he leads a class for students and soloists at the Musik-Akademie Basel.
A native of Lucerne, Switzerland, Rafael studied at the Zürich Conservatory with Walter Grimmer and with Prof. David Geringas at the Musikhochschule Lübeck. He resides near Zürich with his wife, Mary Ellen Woodside and their daughter. Rafael's CD entitled “Fantasy Worlds”, with works by Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy and others was released just recently.
www.rafael.rosenfeld.ch
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