ASASELLO QUARTET

    Rostislav Kozhevnikov, violin Barbara Streil, violin Justyna Śliwa, viola Teemu Myöhänen, cello   The Asasello Quartet was founded in Basel in 2000, while its members were studying at the time. Having concluded their studies in Basel with a major in chamber music, the quartet relocated to Cologne in 2003 and continued to study with the renowned Alban Berg Quartet. Winning the first prize of Migros Kulturprozent competition in Zurich was the start for further international concerts. Its tours took the quartet to Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, and England. In 2009, the Asasello Quartet won the second prize of the first International Chamber Music Contest in Hamburg, followed by the Music Award 2010 of the Association of the German Concert Agencies. Highlights of the last years include guest performances at international festivals and in renowned concert halls in Europe, thereunder the debut in Cologne Philharmonic Hall in April 2017. Since 2014 the quartet also performs in dance projects in cooperation with Richard Siegal und Stephanie Thiersch, for example in “Bronze by Gold” at Beethoven-Fest Bonn 2015.  Various awards and subsidies have paved the way for a number of musical projects and friendships with Christophe Desjardins (Paris), Chaim Taub (Tel Aviv), Jürgen Geise (Salzburg) and David Alberman (London). The ensemble gained important artistic input by working closely with composers such as Thomas Adès, Alexandra Gryka, Michael Jarrell, Helmut Lachenmann, Heinz Marti, Sergej Newski, Matthias Pintscher, Wolfgang Rihm, Kaija Saariaho etc. In 2016, the Asasello Quartet released a complete recording of Arnold Schoenberg’s string quartets with soprano Eva Resch (Genuin).  In May 2019 the Asasello Quartet was part of the new choreography “Bilderschlach-ten” by Stephanie Thiersch which was premiered in Nîmes/France and will be performed as well at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn in September. In December 2019 the ensemble will present the entire Schoenberg Cycle in Cologne.