Terem Quartet

Terem Quartet ( _ru. Терем квартет) is a musical ensemble from St. Petersburg, Russia known for its virtuosity on Russian folk instruments. The group performs repertoire from both folk and classical genres at a frantic pace and with humorous attitude, sometimes reminiscent of cartoon soundtracks.

Members

*Andrey Konstantinov (Soprano domra)
*Mikhail Dziudze (Double bass balalaika)
*Alexei Barchtchev (Alto domra), replaced founding member Igor Ponomarenko
*Andrey Smirnov (Bayan accordion)

History

The group was formed in 1986, playing first in Soviet state-sponsored competitions. They had their first paying jobs in 1987. Their first international touring began in 1988 in support of baritone singer Vladimir Chemov. After Chemov was sidelined by illness in 1989, Terem began solo concert tours. In 1991, they met Peter Gabriel at the WOMAD festival. Gabriel helped the group to reach a wider audience in the western world by releasing their albums "Terem" and "Classical" on his label, Real World Records.

Discography

*"Terem" (1992)
*"Classical" (1994)
*"1,000th Concert live"
*"No, Russia cannot be perceived by wit" (2000)
*"Умом Россию не понять" (Russian edition of "No, Russia cannot be perceived by wit")
*"Flea waltz"
*"Jubilenium"
*"Anthology part 1"
*"Anthology part 2"
*"Anthology part 3"
*"Russian passion"

See also

* [http://www.terem-quartet.ru/ Terem Quartet official site]
* [http://www.realworldusa.com/albumpages/terem/default.html Terem Quartet] on Real World Records, Ltd. official site.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/womad2005/terem_quartet.shtml BBC Radio 3 Feature] from WOMAD 2005.