Artists & projects

Expressive, dynamic, impressive – the Aris Quartet has been at home on international stages for more than a decade. With its unmistakable sound, it has long been known as one of the world’s top-rank chamber music ensembles. The ensemble’s success is no coincidence: having earned numerous first prizes at prestigious competitions, the Aris Quartet quickly achieved its international breakthrough. The musicians have also been honored as ECHO Rising Stars by the European Concert Hall Organisation, are among the BBC's New Generation Artists, and have won five awards at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

The Kuss Quartet has been standing on the international stage for many years and has remained true to its trademark by developing conceptual programmes, always searching with curiosity for the confirmation of the eternal "Muss es sein" of string quartet playing.

It is a rare stroke of luck when siblings achieve a comparable professional mastery on their instruments and then also represent international top level in playing chamber music. One such stroke of luck is the Quatuor Tchalik, founded in 2013 with Gabriel (1st violin), Louise (2nd violin), Sarah (viola) and Marc Tchalik (violoncello). And there is even a family-option to play as a piano quintet with brother and pianist Dania which is regularly used. Since 2018 at the latest, as double-awarded prize winners at the Salzburg Mozart Competition, the four have been playing in the top league of the European string quartet scene. Growing up in a Russian-French household with Ukrainian roots, the siblings have been making music together from an early age.

The three brothers Mark, Erik and Ken Schumann have been playing together since their earliest childhood – meanwhile violist Veit Hertenstein completes the quartet. Those who experience the quartet in performance often remark on the strong connection between its members. The four musicians enjoy the way they communicate without words: how a single look suffices to convey how a particular member wants to play a particular passage. Although the individual personalities clearly manifest themselves, a common space arises in every musical work in a process of spiritual metamorphosis.