Wilhelm Melcher

Wilhelm Melcher (April 5, 1940 – March 5, 2005) was a German violinist. He is the founder of the Melos Quartet.^[1]

Melcher was born in Hamburg, and studied there and in Rome. In 1962, he won the International Chamber Music Competition in Venice. In 1963, at the age of 23, he became the concertmaster of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.^[2]

He established a standing quartet with the brothers Gerhard and Hermann Voss, as well as cellist Peter Buck. The quartet was based in Stuttgart, and remained together until Melcher's unexpected death on the eve of a planned farewell tour.

Wilhelm Melcher played a violin by Carlo Bergonzi (1731).