Ligeti Quartet Appoints New First Violinist

British violinist Freya Goldmark will step into the role, effective immediately

Violinist Freya Goldmark will replace UK-based Ligeti Quartet's founding first violinist Mandhira de Saram.

A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Goldmark made her concerto debut at Russia's Rachmaninov Institute when she was only 13. Throughout her teens, she performed as a soloist across Europe and Asia, and at 19, founded the Stamford International Music Festival, a chamber music festival that takes place annually in her hometown.

Throughout 2022, Goldmark has been the guest first violinist of the Ligeti Quartet, including in performances at the Aldeburgh Festival. Of late, she has also spent time touring with the Scottish Ensemble.

Formed in 2010, the Ligeti Quartet has commissioned a multitude of new works, and their current commissioning project will see composer Christian Mason produce a set of new works that focus on overtone-singing traditions from around the world.

"Big news!" wrote the quartet on social media. "We are proud to introduce Freya Goldmark as our new first violinist. Freya has been working with us over the past year including on one of our UK tours and performed with us during our first performance at Aldeburgh Festival last year."

"We were blown out of the water by her refined playing, ideas, and dedication to chamber music — she is a natural fit in the ensemble and we look forward to our musical adventures together."

"I am delighted to be joining the wonderful Ligeti Quartet," Goldmark said. "It has already been such fun delving into a world of incredible repertoire and I am hugely looking forward to many years of cutting-edge projects and thrilling performances together."

"Leaving the quartet was a difficult decision," said Mandhira de Saram. "I'll always remember our first meeting at Cafe Oto. In this new chapter of my life I embark on new creative ventures including new collaborations, improvisation and composition. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family and traveling the world when possible!"