The Kuijken String Quartet was founded in 1986 with a view to focussing on the quartets of Haydn and Mozart. The formation consists of violinist Sigiswald Kuijken, violinist François Fernandez,viola player Marleen Thiers, and cellist Wieland Kuijken. A regular guest is viola player Ryo Terakado, for example for the performance of Mozart’s string quintets. For decades all members have been enjoying an international reputation because of their important contribution to the historically informed and more authentic performance style on string instruments. The Kuijken String Quartet performed in almost every European country, but also in Australia, the U.S. and Japan. On CD several Haydn Quartets appeared, among them Christ’s Seven Last Words from the Cross. As far as Mozart is concerned, the Kuijken String Quartet recorded the three Prussian quartets, the Hoffmeister quartet, the quartets dedicated to Haydn and the Requiem (in an adaptation of Peter Lichtenthal, ca.1810). For the recording of Mozart’s clarinet quintet, oboe quartet and horn quartet, the ensemble was augmented with Lorenzo Coppola, Patrick Beaugiraud and Pierre-Yves Madeuf respectively.