CHAOS STRING QUARTET
Founded in 2019 on the principles of chaos in the arts, science, and philosophy, the Chaos String Quartet combines a highly refined ensemble culture and a fiery vitality with a passion for exploring experimental and improvisational approaches. With their affinity for embracing unpredictability and risk-taking, the ensemble’s members bring a unique dynamism and vibrancy to their playing featuring a whole universe of sounds.
Recently selected as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist 2023-2025, the Chaos String Quartet is rapidly establishing itself on the international music scene. The Quartet has been awarded at the most prestigious international competitions, such as ARD (2022), Bordeaux (2022), Haydn (2023) and Bad Tölz (2023). Additional successes include winning the 2nd Prize at Budapest’s 2021 Bartók World Competition and the Premio V. E. Rimbotti in Italy.
Their newly-released album featuring works by Haydn, Ligeti and Hensel (Solo Musica) was met with international critical acclaim.
The Chaos String Quartet was invited to music festivals such as the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, the Schwarzwald Musikfestival, the Mozartfest Würzburg, Les Musicales de Normandie, the Davos Festival, the Ravenna Festival, the Festival del Quartetto Firenze, Lockenhaus, the Gent Festival van Vlaanderen, the Festival Academy Budapest, and the Heidelberger Streichquartettfest, among others. In the season 2023-24, the ensemble made its debut at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris and BOZAR in Brussels.
Mentored by Prof. Johannes Meissl in Vienna through the ECMAster program, the quartet additionally completed a postgraduate course at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole with the Cuarteto Casals. The ensemble received additional important musical impulses from artists such as Eberhard Feltz, Patrick Jüdt, Rainer Schmidt, Hatto Beyerle, András Keller and Oliver Wille.
The group has worked with artists like Nicolas Baldeyrou, Alexander Ullman, Giampaolo Bandini, Reinhard Latzko, Avri Levitan, Hyung-ki Joo, Christoph Zimper, as well as the Modigliani, Signum, Amaryllis and Barbican Quartets. In addition, the group had the opportunity to work with composer Helmut Lachenmann on his 2nd quartet, “Reigen seliger Geister”.
Next to their classical concert career, the quartet enjoys developing interdisciplinary projects and new concert formats in order to make the quartet repertoire more approachable and open it up to a more diverse audience.
The ensemble is a member of the MERITA Project and has been selected for the promotional program “New Austrian Sound of Music”.
Susanne Schäffer plays a violin by Carlo Giuseppe Testore (c. 1710), kindly on loan from the MERITO String Instruments Trust and Bas Jongen plays a cello by Hendrick Jacobs (Amsterdam, 1696), kindly loaned to him by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation (NMF).
THE QUARTET
SUSANNE SCHÄFFER
VIOLIN
Born into a musical household, Hungarian-German violinist Susanne Schäffer studied with Dr. Felix Andrievsky in London and Prof. Dora Schwarzberg at the MDW in Vienna, where she graduated with distinction. She completed her studies in chamber music with Prof. Johannes Meissl at her alma mater in Vienna.
Her additional musical mentors include such artists as Hatto Beyerle, Gerhard Schulz, Ferenc Rados and Steven Isserlis.
A prizewinner at renowned national and international music competitions, Schäffer regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician, including on concert tours throughout Europe, Israel, Venezuela, the USA and Japan.
Moreover, Susanne is a welcomed guest at prestigious festivals such as the Cully Classique Festival, the ISA Festival, and IMS Prussia Cove. She regularly appears on television, and on broadcast and has recorded several CDs.
Susanne Schäffer plays a violin by Carlo Giuseppe Testore (c. 1710), kindly on loan from the MERITO String Instruments Trust.
ESZTER KRUCHIÓ
VIOLIN
Eszter Kruchió started playing the violin at the age of five. Born in 1993 in Budapest and brought up in Vienna, she studied with Ernst Kovacic (Vienna), Tanja Becker-Bender (Hamburg) and Ulf Schneider (Hanover), currently in the postgraduate Solo Performance Class. She received further important musical impulses from Oliver Wille, Eberhard Feltz, Ralf Gothóni, Rita Wagner, Ferenc Rados and Péter Eötvös, among others.
As a winner of several national and international prizes, Eszter has had the chance to perform as a chamber music partner of Thomas Riebl, Tanja Becker-Bender, Péter Nagy, István Várdai and Claudio Martínez-Mehner, as well as with the Castalian, Berlin-Tokyo and Van Kuijk String Quartets. She is a frequent participant in festivals and masterclasses such as Encuentro de Santander, the Davos Festival – Young Artists in Concert, Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker and IMS Prussia Cove.
Eszter plays on a violin by Stefan-Peter Greiner, a generous private loan.
SARA MARZADORI
VIOLA
Italian violist Sara Marzadori studied with Antonello Farulli in Bologna and Thomas Riebl in Salzburg before earning her master’s degree in 2017 from the Mozarteum Salzburg in the classes of William Coleman and Veronika Hagen.
Furthermore, she studied quartet chamber music with Walter Levin and Oliver Wille in Basel and Hannover, respectively, and received further musical training from Bruno Giuranna, Kim Kashkashian, among others.
Marzadori became a regular member of Orchestra Mozart under the direction of Claudio Abbado after having been admitted to the Orchestra Academy at age 15 and was a member of the EUYO, the Gustav Mahler Academy as well as the Luzern Academy.
Sara won prizes at several instrumental and chamber music competitions and plays regularly with the Camerata Salzburg, Orchestra Leonore, Spira Mirabilis and the Haydn Philharmonic.
