The Balanescu Quartet

Balanescu Quartet
Years active	1987 (1987)–present
Website	www.balanescu.com
Members	Alexander Bălănescu James Shenton Katie Wilkinson Nick Holland
Past members	Sian Bell Jonathan Carney Clare Connors Nick Cooper Caroline Dale Bill Hawkes Paul Martin Anthony Hinnigan Kate Musker Andrew Parker

Paul Martin

The Balanescu Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1987 by Alexander Bălănescu that achieved fame through the release of several complex cover versions of songs by German experimental electronic music band Kraftwerk on their album Possessed.

The quartet are mainly notable for their very distinctive style of music, which encompasses odd time rhythms, sound dissonances and complex arrangements. They have performed multiple works with a variety of other artists, including Philip Glass, David Byrne, Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Kevin Volans, Hector Zazou, Un Drame Musical Instantané, Spiritualized, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Stateless and Pet Shop Boys. They performed the current version of University Challenge's title music (since 2000) on BBC2 in the UK.

Their early albums were on Mute Records and Argo Records (UK).

The Quartet was initially formed by Alexander Bălănescu (violin), Clare Connors (second violin), Bill Hawkes (viola), and Caroline Dale (cello). It currently consists of Alexander Bălănescu (violin), James Shenton (violin), Katie Wilkinson (viola) and Nick Holland (cello).

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