“One of the most promising and creative quartets of the current music scene.”
Arnau Tomàs | Cuarteto Casals
"The four saxophones morph into instruments of all kind at times. Fukio is a sensitive combination of contrasting elements: a genre-bending crossover of styles, a tactile, flexible sound. A display of virtuosity and dexterity. An unprecedented sound experience.
Listen to our musicFukio Quartet presents its latest CD — TRANSCEND
with music by Marc Mellits, Caroline Shaw, Georg F. Haas & William Albright
Since its inception in 2008, Fukio has focused on the performance of music for saxophone quartet as well as the creation of new repertoire for the genre.
The Cologne-based quartet specialised in contemporary music at the HfMT Köln as well as in chamber music at the CNSMD in Paris. They have worked closely with renowned composers such as Georges Aperghis, Fabien Lévy and Georg Friedrich Haas, amongst others. Fukio collaborates actively with young composers, creating new repertoire for the saxophone quartet genre. Notable collaborations include working with artists such as Lisa Streich, Matthias Krüger, Birke Bertelsmeier, Thierry Tidrow, Camilo Mendez-San Juan, Francisco C. Kenichi Ikuno, David Moliner, Pablo Garreton, Francisco C. Goldschmidt and Sergej Maingardt. In recent years the quartet has performed more than twenty premieres worldwide.
Fukio performs at the the greatest halls across Europe, Asia and America. The quartet has also been invited to perform at multiple festivals including Tripclubbing of Kölner Philharmonie, Mozartfest Würzburg, Intersonanzen Postdam, Spitzentone and Romanischer Sommer Köln, Hohenloher Kultursommer, Andernacher Musiktage, Berlin’s Young Euro Classics, Mosel Musikfestival, Kultursommer Oldenburg, Junge Elite Konzertreihe Schloss Fulda, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Festival Música en Segura, Festival Monteleón and Festival Internacional de Música Contemporanea ENSEMS.
The quartet has won first prize at several international competitions including the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerbes für Neue Musik in Berlin, Karlsruher Wettbewerb für die Interpretation Neue Musik, Coop Music Awards in Milan and the 20th International Chamber Music Competition in Illzach. Fukio has been awarded with the gold medal at the UGDA competition in Luxembourg, the Gianni Bergamo Classic Music Award in Lugano and at the Concurso Permanente Jeunesses Musicales in Spain. In 2015 they were awarded the Werner Richard-Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation scholarship and most recently received the prestigious Spanish FestClásica 2020 award.
In 2014 Fukio recorded their debut CD as a result of winning the FMB-Hochschulwettbewerb competition, produced by Tonmeisterinstitut UdK Berlin. In 2016 the WDR, Ars Produktion and Förderer der Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln awarded Fukio with the prize “Taste the Best”, receiving full support for the recording of their second CD ‘Time in Motion’. In 2019 Fukio collaborated on the CD ‘weiter’ a selection of works by German composer Ralf Hoyer, produced by Kreuzberg Records in Berlin. Fukio’s performances have been broadcasted by the WDR, Deutschlandfunk, SR 2 KulturRadio, RNE, Radio Catalunya and RTVE.
Pedagogical work is a central pillar of the quartet’s activities outside of the concert hall. They have been active in contributing to the Encontro Galego do Saxofon as well as workshops at the University of East Anglia (UK), the Universidad Autónoma Zacatecas (Mexico), the Conservatorio Superior de Sevilla and the MIT Ensemble in Taiwan.
Soprano Saxophone: Joaquín Sáez Belmonte Alto Saxophone: Xavier Larsson Páez Tenor Saxophone: José Manuel Bañuls Marcos Baritone Saxophone: Xabier Casal Ares
© 2023 Fukio Quartet. Copyright
All pictures by Andrej Grilc