CHAOS STRING QUARTET

To follow one’s own path unburdened by pre-defined standards. One that transcends barriers and pushes all boundaries – that is the motto of the Chaos String Quartet. Founded on the principles of the rich interdisciplinary concept of “Chaos”, the ensemble’s members Susanne Schäffer, Eszter Kruchió, Sara Marzadori and Bas Jongen share the firm conviction to overcome shallow, superficial aesthetics by the willingness to explore extremes, to take risks and to welcome the unpredictable. The Quartet embraces Chaos as the primal form of all creativity through which science, art and philosophy unite to become one Gesamtkunstwerk. Despite its relatively short existence, the Chaos String Quartet has already proved themselves as one of the more exciting, independent and innovative ensembles in tomorrow’s music scene.

The group is currently mentored by Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet) in Vienna and received additional musical training from artists such as Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet), Clive Brown, Patrick Jüdt, Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet), Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg Quartet), Asdis Valdimarsdottír (Chilingirian Quartet), Dirk Mommertz (Fauré Quartet), and others. In 2019, the quartet was selected for the prestigious ECMAster (European Chamber Music Master) Programme: an intensive two-year joint study programme with exchange semesters in Vienna, Oslo, and Paris, enabling the group to further master their artistic, technical and social skills as a string quartet.

Hosted by the European Chamber Music Academy, the Chaos String Quartet will receive valuable artistic guidance and take advantage of the expertise, culture and tradition of the universities in Vienna, Oslo, and Paris. This includes an inter-disciplinary project centered on the science and philosophy of the group’s namesake concept of “Chaos”, through which the ensemble will be involved in collaborating with a wide range of composers and artists.

Social outreach is an important aspect of the ensemble’s ethos- through programs like Musethica, the group has committed themselves to bring the wonderful musical world of the string quartet to audiences that would normally not attend a concert; these include children, the elderly, the mentally- and physically disabled, the incarcerated, youths from difficult socially-economic backgrounds, and others.

The season 2019/2020 will see the Chaos String Quartet as “Quartet in Residence” at the Podium Festival Mödling in Austria as well as embarking on concert tours through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Norway and Spain.

The Quartet was recently selected as one of the 10 quartets -out of a pool of 126 applications from 28 countries- to compete in the upcoming prestigious 10th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition scheduled to take place in May 2020.

Bas Jongen plays a rare cello by Hendrick Jacobs (Amsterdam, ±1690), kindly loaned to him from the Dutch National Musical Instruments Foundation.