Terem Quartet

The ensemble was created in 1986 as a project of four St. Petersburg Conservatory students: Andrey Konstantinov (soprano domra), Andrey Smirnov (bayan), Mikhail Dzudze (double bass balalaika) and Igor Ponomarenko (alto domra). At one time the students were called up for military service. After the first year of this service they were transferred to the local army ensemble which consisted of orchestra, choir and ballet. Some time later an idea to create a new ensemble was born and this one was called "Russian Souvenir".

At this time we promised each other that just the ensemble will be the main thing for all of us. We have already understood that we are interesting only when we are together. Our "Terem" is not just a beautiful building. There are no chiefs for us, everyone does his bit and it forms what we are building. In our music we unite different genres under one roof. Terem is open for guests, we are always glad to see them[1] (Andrey Konstantinov)

The first concert took place on 26 November 1986 on the stage of music teachers training college. According to Andrey Konstantinov, at the end of the performance the audience stood up and musicians understood that their choice was right.[1] In 1989 Melodiya released the first LP record of the ensemble - "Terem Quartet".

In 1991 Terem Quartet was invited to take part in Womad. Within the bounds of this event musicians performed on one stage with Peter Gabriel, Sinéad O'Connor, Suzanne Vega and Led Zeppelin. At Peter Gabriel's instance Real World Records recorded the first CD of the ensemble - "The Terem". This Cd was released in 1992. Allmusic Guide gives 4.5 stars to it: "The Quartet's eccentric approach transforms everything it touches into shades of humor and delight[2]". In the next years Terem Quartet repeatedly performed on Womad.

In 1994 Pope John Paul II invited Terem-Quartet to Vatican. Here at the "Family Day" holiday they gave concert to 120-thousand audience. Among the listeners was Mother Teresa who blessed the musicians and presented them medallions.[3] This year two cds were released: "Classical" and "1000 concert" (1000-й концерт). The first one was released by "Real World Records" and received its name after Mozart's, Schubert's, Glinka's and Chopin's pieces in it. The second is a recording of the 1000 concert in Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and it was released on Terem-Quartet label.

In 1998 Terem-Quartet performed on Edinburgh festival and solo concerts of the ensemble received the highest mark of "Scotsman" newspaper.[4]

In 1999 within the bounds of Alexander Pushkin 300-anniversary celebration Terem Quartet played Alexander Chaikovsky's opera in St. James's Palace. Among the listeners was Prince Charles. This year two Cds were released: «No, Russia cannot be perceived by wit» ("Intuition" Label) produced by Giovanni Amighetti is awarded 4 stars by Allmusic: "These classically-trained musicians exhibit masterful technique at their tools. The sounds they make seem to arise from an ensemble much greater than a quartet. Subtle, inventive, and gifted with a sense of humor, their gypsy turns thrill and enthrall".[5] The second - "Flea Waltz" (Sobachy Vals) was released by Bomba-Piter.

In 2000, the line-up underwent changes: Igor Ponomarenko was replaced by Alexey Barshchev. In 2002, Bomba-Piter released a three-CD compilation: Anthology I, "Anthology II" and "Anthology III". Besides the Russian Sufferings album was released.

In 2003, Terem Quartet organized its own world music festival in St. Petersburg. In 2004 three CDs were released: Terem Quartet and Friends (featuring Remake ensemble, Vladimir Chernov, Joji Hirota, Svetlana Kruchkova, Dora Shwarzberg, Igor Sharapov, Arkady Shilkloper and Igor Dmitriev), "2000-th concert" (recording of the concert in Saint Petersburg Philharmonia on 25 March 2004) and "Neapolitan Songs" (joint project with Vladimir Chernov).

In 2009, Terem Quartet opened the Eurovision second semi-final in Moscow. For this event, musicians prepared 6-minute potpourri of songs-winners of this competition ("Waterloo" by ABBA, "Volare", "Diva" by Dana International, "Believe" by Dima Bilan and Ding-A-Dong by Teach-In). This year the DVD "Terem Quartet or Imperceptibles" (Terem-Quartet Y Snova Neulovimiye) was released.