arcis saxophon quartett

If you’ve ever been to Munich’s Königsplatz, you may have spotted it: Arcisstrasse, which gave its name to the Arcis Saxophone Quartet 15 years ago. Having long outgrown the “cosmopolitan city with a heart”, the quartet is one of the world’s most active classical ensembles. Whether on the highest pass in Ecuador, in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert, on a rock in the American Atlantic or in the sold-out Philharmonie in Munich and Berlin… the four saxophonists feel at home everywhere with their music.

And the adventure continues. On a trailer as an improvised stage through the provinces, playing and pedaling through the city on a conference bike or with theatrical make-up on their faces: they approach their musical work with experimentation, artistry and curiosity, inventing not only new concert formats, but even completely new artistic genres, as recently with their arcis_collectiv, which combines chamber music and contemporary dance in a joint performative act.
Sophisticated dramaturgy, sound and lighting design and captivating presentations are just as much a part of the concert experience for the four multi-talented musicians as their energetic interpretations, finely balanced original arrangements and commissioned compositions from all over the world, which they have had written to suit them.

In order to always remain authentic, their artistic vision flows into all areas of their work: After the two debut CDs “Arcis Saxophon Quartett spielt Enjott Schneider” (2013) with Ambiente Audio and “Rasch” 2017 with Genuin, the four quickly founded their own record label, arcis records, and have their own production company, arcis visuals, which takes care of the visual-media content.

They learned their chamber music skills from the best of the best. They studied with the Artemis Quartet at the UdK in Berlin and at the European Chamber Music Academy (Hatto Beyerle, Alban Berg Quartet; Prof. Johannes Meissl and others), as well as at the HMT Munich with Prof. Koryun Asatryan and Prof. Friedemann Berger.

And international success was not long in coming. The press hailed “A world-class quartet” and the competition successes and awards poured in. They won first prizes at the music competition of the Kulturkreis Gasteig e.V. (Munich; also audience prize), at the international music competition Concorso Argento (Italy) and at the First Classical Music International Internet Festival “Chance Music” (Russia). They won third prize at the 13th International Chieri Music Competition (Italy). This was followed in 2014 by second prize at the Alice Samter Foundation Chamber Music Competition (Berlin) and in 2015 by first prize at the 4th international Contest – Festival of Chamber Ensemble Performance named after T.A. Gaidamovich in Magnitogorsk (Russia). In 2016, he won first prize at the 1st Rising Stars Grand Prix 2016 – International Music Competition Berlin.

The ensemble was also awarded the Bavarian Arts Promotion Prize 2016 and received a scholarship from the Theodor Rogler Foundation, a scholarship for music from the City of Munich and scholarships from the Erika and Georg Dietrich Foundation, the German Orchestra Foundation, the Musikfonds e.V. and the German Music Council.

In order to inspire the younger generation, the musicians and the audiences of tomorrow, the quartet has made education a priority: in ensemble workshops, master classes and several dozen school visits a year, they approach children and young people directly and skillfully inspire them for music and music-making.

For the Arcis Saxophone Quartet, music is like a never-ending playing field and they are more diverse than any other group. Only one thing remains the same:
Their unmistakable sound.