Formed in London in 1987, the Balanescu Quartet ranks as one of the world’s leading string quartets. The intention of its founder, Romanian-born Alexander Balanescu, was to rise above generic limitations and create a new musical universe in which contemporary classical music, pop, jazz, folk traditions and electronic music might strike a common chord. This endeavour has been realised in both his own works and a series of memorable collaborations with such repositories of pop music and jazz as David Byrne, Kate Bush, Kraftwerk, Spiritualized, Pet Shop Boys, John Lurie, Ornette Coleman and Jack DeJohnette. In the first half of the 1990s, returning to his own personal roots and inspired by the social changes taking place in the countries of Eastern Europe, he turned toward Eastern European folk traditions. This led to the album Luminitza, and Balanescu’s subsequent appearance on The Bartók Album by Hungarian folk legends Muzsikás. Material from the album Maria T, which paid tribute to the art of Bucharest folk and chanson singer Maria Tanase, was presented at the Palace of Arts, with video installations by Klaus Obermaier. A compilation album entitled This Is the Balanescu Quartet was released in 2011, featuring the most successful pieces from the 25-year career of the Balanescu Quartet, and it is these which provide the foundation for the current jubilee tour on which the Festival Theatre is just one stop.

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