The Quartet

The Aventurin Quartett, founded in 2022 at the Bern University of the Arts, has quickly established itself in the concert world through its captivating interpretations and ambitious programming. Since September 2024, the quartet has been part of the “Ad hoc” chamber music program of the Stauffer Academy in Cremona. A year earlier, it joined the Italian network Le Dimore del Quartetto. In 2023, the ensemble was Artist in Residence at the Guimarães Clássico Festival in Portugal and participated as a guest ensemble of the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA).

The artistic development of the Aventurin Quartett is profoundly shaped by its collaboration with distinguished chamber music mentors such as Patrick Jüdt, Corina Belcea, Rainer Schmidt, Axel Schacher, Conradin Brotbek, Eckart Runge, and Minna Pensola. These inspiring encounters enrich the quartet’s musical work and provide valuable impulses for its ongoing artistic growth. In 2025, the quartet was selected for the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, an experience that further deepened its artistic focus and ensemble craft.

A particular focus of the Aventurin Quartett lies in its collaboration with contemporary composers and its active pursuit of artistic exchange. Within its first independently organized project, “AcoustiCity,” the quartet commissioned new works from the emerging composers Aline Sarah Müller and Arda Yurdusev, whose pieces it is currently performing in concerts across Switzerland. Furthermore, the ensemble maintains an ongoing dialogue with established composers such as Thomas Demenga, continuously expanding its repertoire and exploring new sonic landscapes. In recognition of this dedication to detail and expressive clarity, the quartet received the Coup de Cœur Prize at the Concours Nicati in Lucerne for its performance of György Kurtág’s 12 Microludes.

The name “Aventurin” reflects the quartet’s artistic vision: a connection between tradition and exploration. The gemstone, known as a symbol of optimism and curiosity, embodies the ensemble’s aspiration to both preserve the treasures of the classical music tradition and to venture, with openness and imagination, into the realms of contemporary music.