The Rothko String Quartet (RSQ), consisting of Marc Kopitzki (Viola), Jakob Nierenz (Cello), Joosten Ellée (Violin) and William Overcash (Violin), was founded in Lueneburg, Germany in 2017. The latter two specialized in the study of both early and contemporary music, which gives the ensemble a high degree of flexibility in dealing with different styles of classical music, enabling a wide variety of concert programs. Embodying this stylistic diversity, the RSQ sees it as its task to give a voice to the music of marginalized composers and to bring lesser-known works of classical music history to light.

The collaborative spirit of the four musicians shapes not only their work with contemporary composers and artists from various disciplines, but also their approach to one another in rehearsal. In addition to performing newly composed music, the RSQ is interested in dissolving the boundaries between (musical) genres and collaborates with producers, composers, improvisers, and visual artists. Notable partners have included Mirna Bogdanovic and the Holon Trio (jazz), Sadie Weis (visual art), dOP (techno), Tian Gao (dance), and inti figgis-vizueta (joint album Music for Transitions, release fall 2026).

 Together with its partner PODIUM Esslingen, the RSQ creates innovative concert programs that are performed at renowned classical music festivals. The ensemble appears regularly at the Ludwigsburg Palace Festival, the Düsseldorf Festival!, and the PODIUM Festival Esslingen, and last year made successful debuts at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Thuringian Bach Weeks, and the Mozartfest Würzburg. With its first US tour in 2025, the RSQ continues its journey and will additionally appear at the Ettlingen Palace Festival (SWR), the “Fratopia” festival at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, and the Festival for New Music Rockenhausen.

 September 2025