«Eckart, «Ecki» for alle utenom hans mor, e vel den av FESTIVALTAartistan som æ har kjent kortest. Festivalen vi møttes på første gang foregikk i Polen i 2017 og det va Beethovens kvartett op. 131 som ble vårt første felles bestegne fjell. Ecki e en ekte «badass» både som musiker og menneske, og etter 30 år i den verdenskjente Artemiskvartetten går han nu sin egen vei, med frihet og «gøyhetsfaktoren» høyt prioritert. Ikke rart han og FESTIVALTA blir en perfekt match!»
– Miriam
Three decades Eckart Runge marked the characteristic profile of the Artemis Quartet, with which he performed in major concert series and festivals worldwide. And – and vice versa the quartet marked him: he got to the bottom of the great, complex quartet literature which has become a part of his musical personality. Albums, since 2005 exclusively for Warner/Erato have been granted numerous awards such as the Grammophone Award, the ECHO-Klassik and the Diapason d’Or.
As of 2019 Eckart Runge decided to leave the quartet and endeavour for new artistic challenges, persuing his solo-projects and above all, his passion of presenting programs that converge varied musical genres and art forms, such as classical, jazz, rock-pop and film music, also to reach out to younger and wider audiences, for chamber music presented in a new contemporary way.
Since 25 years, his Duo Runge&Ammon performs these programs in festivals, series and clubs alike, across Europe, the USA, South-America and Asia. In 2020 the Duo will release an album ‘RollOverBeethoven’, exploring Beethoven in the reflexion of revolutionary icons of rock-pop-jazz like Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Miles Davis.
Eckart’s first solo album with the radio orchestra Berlin (RSB) will also be released in 2020, featuring the world premiere recording of Nikolai Kapustin’s jazzy cello concerto op. 85 as well as the passionate 1st concerto by Alfred Schnittke. He will also present the first European performance of John Williams cello concerto.
Teaming up with the renowned Italian Quartetto di Cremona, an album with the famous Schubert quintet, was released in spring of 2019, followed by an international tour.
Eckart Runge plays a beautiful cello made by the brothers Hieronymus and Antonio Amati in Cremona in 1595, a generous loan of Merito String Instrument Trust Vienna.
Born in Heidelberg, Eckart Runge studied with Edmond Baert in Brussels and David Geringas in Lübeck. Further artistic inspirations include the Alban Berg Quartet Alfred Brendel, Walter Levin, Boris Pergamenschikow, and György Kurtag. Several awards in music-competitions such as Premio Stradivari Cremona, the Concours International de Musique de Genève and ARD Music Competition Munich initiated his active international career on stage.
As a professor at the University of Fine Arts Berlin (UdK), the Chapelle de la Reine Elisabeth in Brussels as well as on international master classes, he passes on his experience to students from across the world.
Eckart Runge’s vision of being an artists goes far beyond his his commitments of performing and teaching. He supports Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now, Jeunesses Musicales Germany and youth orchestra projects in South America, as well as Mit-Mach Musik, a social integration project for refugee children.