THE QUARTET

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


‍


‍