Principal violin of the Leipzig Quartet attacks a fellow guest in New York hotel.

Violinist with the highly acclaimed Leipzig String Quartet, Stefan Arzberger, has been arrested after going on a naked rampage in a New York Hotel, during which the German musician attacked another guest. The 42-year-old musician had been in the U.S. performing at the Library of Congress in Washington last week.

Staff at the boutique Hudson Hotel received reports of a man roaming the corridors naked, early on Friday morning, New York police officials revealed. Shortly after 8am a 64-year-old female guest at the hotel received a knock at her door, and was confronted by a crazed and naked Arzberger, who blocked her attempts to close the door before grabbing the women by the neck. The violinist allegedly choked the woman, who was described by police sources as “a tourist from North Carolina”, so severely that she was left with bruising and burst blood vessels in her neck, although she did not require hospitalisation.

The Leipzig String Quartet (Stefan Arzberger centre left)

Hotel staff already looking for the naked guest ran to the woman’s defence after hearing her screams, and managed to pull Arzberger off her, according to New York police sources. The violinist fled to his room but was arrested by police shortly after, who charged him with assault (strangulation) and burglary.

While police sources say Azberger showed no outward signs of mental distress or incapacity, the violinist claims to have no memory of the incident. Azberger did not know the victim and had no obvious motive for the attack. Sources close to the musician have speculated that Azberger may have been drugged without his knowledge, possibly via a spiked drink in the hotel’s bar.

In a media statement Azberger’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaizer was keen to establish the musician’s otherwise faultless record. “He’s an upstanding member of society without a criminal record who has devoted his life to the arts,’’ he said. The Leipzig Quartet, who were founded in 1988, have an outstanding international reputation and have performed widely across the world, including appearances in Israel, Africa, throughout Europe, America, Japan and Australia. His fellow quartet partners expressed their support for Azberger in a statement on their social media channels saying “We have to announce that Stefan became on Sat. 26th victim of a serious crime in New York City. Things are in clearance now. At this time the lawyers do not allow to divulge more information. We feel great solidarity and hope for a sudden end of that nightmare! Stefan, we are with you!”

Azberger was released on Saturday after the violinist posted the $100,000 bail set by the New York courts. The case continues.