Following a path free from predefined standards, which transcends all barriers and goes beyond all limits, this is the motto of the Chaos String Quartet . Founded on the principles of the rich interdisciplinary concept of "Chaos", ensemble members Susanne Schäffer, Eszter Kruchió, Sara Marzadori and Bas Jongen share the firm belief of overcoming a superficial aesthetic with a willingness to explore extremes, to take risks and to welcome the unpredictable.
Winner of the XI “VE Rimbotti” Prize, the Chaos String Quartet has been invited to the Beethoven Frühling Baden, Podium Festival Mödling, Steirisches Kammermusikfestival, Isa Festival, Musethica Zaragoza and the Florence Quartet Festival. Future engagements of the Quartet include performances at Wien Modern, Sounding Jerusalem as well as concerts at MuTH Vienna and Konzerttheater Bern. At the 65th Jeunesses Musicales International Chamber Music Campus they received the award for most promising newcomer ensemble of 2020, which included an invitation to the Heidelberger Streichquartettfest 2022.
The Quartet is currently under the leadership of Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet) in Vienna and , since 2019, is completing the ECMAster (European Chamber Music Master) program with study semesters in Vienna, Oslo and Paris.
Through programs such as Musethica, the Chaos String Quartet is committed to bringing the beautiful musical world of the string quartet to an audience of children, the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled, inmates and young people from difficult socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Quartet has worked with Hyung-ki Joo, Avri Levitan and Christoph Zimper and, in December 2020, had the opportunity to work with Helmut Lachenmann on his second quartet.
Bas Jongen plays a rare cello by Hendrick Jacobs (Amsterdam, circa 1690), kindly lent to him by the Dutch National Musical Instruments Foundation.
The Chaos String Quartet is hosted for the first time by the Friends of Music of Florence.
Recognized by international critics as one of the most interesting artists of her generation for her technical perfection, passionate sensitivity and incredible transparency of narrative details, and considered in China among the greatest virtuosos of her country, Jin Ju is an ever-growing star in the international piano scene. Born in Shanghai into a family of musicians, she obtained a diploma and a master's degree from the Beijing Conservatory, a master's degree from the International Piano Academy of Imola, a diploma and a gold medal in "Professional Performance" from the Royal Northern Music College in Manchester and has been awarded in international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky in Moscow and the Queen Elizabeth in Brussels.
She has performed in some of the most important concert halls and has collaborated as a soloist with important orchestras, such as the China National Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Russian State Symphony, Oslo Symphony Orchestra, and many others.
Her record production boasts the victory of an ECHO Klassik Award in 2012 as Best Record of the Year for the MDG label, of which she has been "Exclusive Artist" since 2010.
She taught at the Royal Northern Music College in Manchester, and was a member of faculty at the Central Conservatory of Beijing, where he is currently "Guest Professor". She is a professor at the International Piano Academy of Imola and holds masterclasses in China, Europe and the United States.
