The Balanescu Quartet is a Romanian (London based) avant-guarde string quartet founded in 1987 by Alexander Balanescu. The quartet are mainly notable for their distinctive style of music, which encompasses odd time rhythms, sound dissonances and complex arrangements.
They have collaborated with many classical and modern composers, including Kate Bush, Michael Nyman, Peter Greenaway, Gavin Bryars, Rabih Abou-Khalil, David Byrne, Hector Zazou, and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Balanescu even famously paid hommage to Kraftwerk — who he considers as important electronic artists as Stockhausen.
In the Quartet's latest project, Balanescu turns his attention to his homeland, interpreting the music of revered Romanian folk singer Maria Tanase. Balanescu's transparent arrangements are austere and unsentimental even at their most joyous, capturing the essence of the fatalistic Romanian folk philosophy that fueled Tanase's art. The result is delightfully ethereal!
Listen to them here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=92824611