About Rothko String Quartet

The Rothko String Quartet (RSQ), consisting of Marc Kopitzki (viola), Jakob Nierenz (violoncello), Joosten Ellée (violin), and William Overcash (violin), was founded in 2017 in Lüneburg. The two violinists specialized in the study of both early and contemporary music, giving the ensemble a high degree of flexibility in engaging with various styles of classical music and enabling diverse concert programs. Embodying this stylistic diversity, the RSQ considers it its mission to bring the music of marginalized composers to audiences and to shed light on lesser-known works from the history of classical music. 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 Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Düsseldorf Festival!, and the PODIUM Festival Esslingen, and made successful debuts at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Thuringian Bach Weeks, and the Mozartfest Würzburg in 2024. With its first US tour in 2025, the RSQ continued its journey, additionally appearing at the Ettlingen Palace Festival (SWR), the “Fratopia” festival at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, and the Festival for New Music Rockenhausen, where the quartet performed Helmut Lachenmann’s String Quartet No. 3 “Grido” on the occasion of the composer’s 90th birthday with him present. 2026 highlights include a performance at theKonzerthaus Berlin as well as the world premiere of inti figgis-vizueta’s “Samara”, a commissioned work by RSQ and PODIUM, performed with Grammy-winning cellist Andrew Yee.

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