Fabrizio Zoffoli: the quartet as an intimate union
A personal conversation about the violin, the sound of a string quartet, repertoire and the relationship between musicians and instruments.
“A quartet is an intimate union in which every instrument plays its part within the score.”
In this 2016 conversation with Giacomo Genzini, Fabrizio Zoffoli retraces his first encounter with the violin and the experiences that led him towards chamber music and the role of first violin in Quartetto Guadagnini.
At the centre of the interview is the quartet as a single organism: four individual timbres that preserve their identity while learning to breathe inside the same score. The discussion moves naturally from rehearsal and repertoire to the search for a shared sound.
The final part turns to instruments and violin making, revealing an approach in which the material qualities of a violin are inseparable from listening, interpretation and the musical relationship among the four players.