Kairos Quartet

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The Kairos Quartet is a Berlin-based string quartet founded in 1996.

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History

The Kairos Quartet (initially "work in progress quartet") specialises in music from 1950 onwards. At the time of its foundation in 1996 [1] it was the first string quartet with such an orientation in the German-speaking world. It is named after Kairos, in Greek mythology the god of the favourable moment and the embodiment of the subjective concept of time. The quartet made its debut at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in Darmstadt in 1996, where it was also taught by the primarius of the Arditti Quartet.

It has since collaborated with many composers, including Georg Friedrich Haas, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, Liza Lim, Sergej Newski, Enno Poppe and Wolfgang Rihm. [1] [2] The Kairos Quartet frequently performs at Neue Musik festivals in Europe and Mexico. In autumn 2018, the quartet made its debut in China with a concert and several workshops at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Its repertoire now includes over 150 compositions (as of spring 2019), including more than 60 premieres and commissioned works. [3]

The Kairos Quartet is also actively involved in teaching Neue Musik, among others at the Zurich University of the Arts, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the Shanghai Conservatory, the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, and the Berlin University of the Arts. It sets its own accents through self-organised concerts, alternative concert formats and concert series.

Members

The violins alternate in the function of the first violin.

Prizes and scholarships

Recordings

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References

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