CHAOS STRING QUARTET
Chaos + Logos = Pathos — this is the ethos that drives the Chaos String Quartet.
Founded in Vienna in 2019, they embrace chaos as creation itself, the starting point of everything. This idea shapes their music-making, where refined ensemble playing meets fiery energy and adventurous spirit. Their performances are crafted with heart and humour, designed to move, surprise, and ignite the imagination. Their programmes span from Gesualdo over Haydn to Miles Davis, combining classical repertoire with contemporary works, inventive arrangements and improvisation.
Contemporary music holds a special place in their repertoire. Composers such as Richard Ayres, Riccardo Panfili, Jan-Peter de Graaff and Alessio Elia have written new works for the ensemble. Their collaboration with Samu Gryllus has introduced improvisational transitions into several programmes, reflecting the quartet’s interdisciplinary approach and adventurous spirit in exploring new concert formats.
The quartet has quickly gained international recognition as BBC New Generation Artists (2023–2025), New Austrian Sound of Music (2023-2024), and Emerging Ensemble of the Ulysses Platform (2025–2028). They are prizewinners of major international competitions, including ARD (Munich), Bordeaux, Bad Tölz, Haydn (Vienna), Bartók (Budapest), and the Premio Rimbotti (Italy).
Recent highlights include debut performances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Beethovenfest Bonn, and returns to Wigmore Hall and the Musikverein Vienna as well as performances at leading festivals such as Davos Festival, Ravenna Festival, Classiche Forme, Lockenhaus Festival, Wien Modern, Mozartfest Würzburg, and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. International tours have taken the quartet to China, Mexico, the US and Canada.
Their debut album (Solo Musica, 2024) features works by Haydn, Hensel, and Ligeti, with a second recording — centred on the concept of chaos and supported by SWR and the BBC — due for release in February 2026.
The 2025/26 season sees their debut at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the premiere of a new work by Errollyn Wallen, and a major project reimagining Haydn’s Op. 20 Sun Quartets through six new commissions for the 2026 String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam. In addition, the quartet players hold a teaching residency at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW).
The quartet completed the ECMAster (European Chamber Music Master) under the mentorship of Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet) and studied with the Cuarteto Casals at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. They received further musical impulses from artists such as Eberhard Feltz, András Keller, Oliver Wille, Steven Isserlis, and Helmut Lachenmann.
The Chaos Quartet is honoured to play on a 1711 Testore violin and a 1696 Jacobs cello, generously loaned by Merito String Instruments Trust and Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
THE QUARTET
SUSANNE SCHÄFFER
VIOLIN
Once you hear Susanne play, you can´t help but notice: she is a magician! Her magical tools are her sense of timing, her vast range of colours and the inner freedom of her playing. Her wish for freedom and independence brought her around Europe early on: at just 15, she began studies at the Purcell School of Music in London, later continuing at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with violin doyenne Dora Schwarzberg and string quartet mentor Johannes Meissl. Just the right place for a budding wizard! Equally formative were the many chamber music “sabbaths” at Prussia Cove, one of which led to the founding of the Chaos String Quartet. When Susanne puts down her enchanted Testore violin, she watches documentaries, listens to Latin music and writes endless lists… about what? Absolutely anything, really!
ESZTER KRUCHIÓ
VIOLIN
Eszter is fearless. Born in Budapest and raised in Vienna, she studied with Ernst Kovacic, Tanja Becker-Bender, and Ulf Schneider, and today plays a Stefan-Peter Greiner violin on generous loan. Always questioning routines and nudging the quartet towards new musical adventures, she channels her imaginative energy into Ligeti’s string quartets—the focus of her artistic doctorate—and her own festival in Vienna.
On tour, she is driver, planner, and source of calm—even on Deutsche Bahn—while off stage, her sharp wit, love of Free Jazz, books, and cycling reveal a natural speaker who keeps us laughing, often when we least expect it. With her strength, curiosity, and captivating way of shaping the inner voice, Eszter is a true force in our chaotic universe.
SARA MARZADORI
VIOLA
Sara is the vibrant Italian heart of the ensemble, wrapped in a warm, engaging energy and a whirlwind of chaotic creativity. A true connoisseur of life, she revels in good food, excellent coffee and don’t you dare overcook her pasta! Drawing inspiration from the depths of philosophy, her eclectic reading fuels an artistic fire that ignites her music-making. Guided by brilliant mentors such as Veronika Hagen and Thomas Riebl, Sara is a violist whose personal sound resonates with deep emotion and intelligence. Just don’t tell her that an “adagio” is slow—her special love-hate relationship with the metronome is the stuff of legends! A deeply analogue soul at heart, she believes that the best moments in life should not be digitised, whether in music or in a delicious meal shared with friends.
