Ferdinand Adler Quartet Launched

On May 6, 2026, Ferdinand Adler's birthday, Fang Sheng, creator of the Adler Project, announces the reestablishment of the Ferdinand Adler Quartet. With the blessing of Christina Adler, Ferdinand Adler’s only child, this Quartet would be a revival of the artistic spirit of Adler, who, alongside his career as a concertmaster, worked actively as a chamber musician. Adler organized and led string quartets in multiple locales, including in Switzerland and Austria before WWII, during his eight-year exile in Shanghai, and then back in Austria after the war.

In Fang’s vision, the Ferdinand Adler Quartet would be an ensemble with a flexible line-up, not necessarily always in the standard two violins, one viola and one cello format, although that would be the base. According to Fang’s research, Ferdinand Adler collaborated with all various artists in violin-piano duos, trios and quartets, even with singers. And he programmed not only the standard masterpieces, such as quartets by Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms, but also lesser-known works, the String Quartet by Fritz Kreisler, as an example. To continue with this spirit, the Ferdinand Adler Quartet would not only tap into Adler’s old programs in Shanghai and Vienna, but also collaborate with interested artists for creative programming. The focus is to bring to light the historical influence Jewish refugee musicians had on China's classical music, and carry on this legacy, bringing together people of different beliefs, cultures and backgrounds, according to Fang Sheng.

At this beginning stage, three multi-talented musicians have joined the Ferdinand Adler Quartet: Daniel Temnik is an Israeli-born Canadian violinist. He has won a number of prominent awards, and has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre, among many others. Daniel is now the artistic director of the Leah Posluns Theatre Chamber Music Series. Cellist Rosalind Zhang is a Toronto native, who was raised in a family of prominent musicians. Her grandfather Li Delun was the conductor of the China National Symphony and was one of the most influential masters in China’s classical music. Rosalind has performed extensively across China, US & Canada, including a tour with the China National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra. Rosalind is now the Principal Cellist of the North York Concert Orchestra, Toronto. Ukrainian-Canadian pianist Mariya Orlenko is the Grand Prize winner of the Canadian Music Competition and has received top accolades from a number of prestigious competitions. Mariya is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the University of Toronto. The Ferdinand Adler Quartet is currently actively seeking talented artists for creative collaborations.

According to Fang, the Ferdinand Adler Quartet would not only perform concert series as a creative way to present the historical research of the Adler Project, but also collaborate with various cultural organizations for their themed events, to promote peace and understanding, and people-to-people connections. As Christina Adler says, "It always touches me that the memory of my father and his work lives on through creative efforts like the Ferdinand Adler Quartet."

For more information, please visit https://www.ferdinandadlerquartet.com/.