The Ast Quartet, whose name in German means "Branch", conveys the message to stretch their music into the world just like branches in growth. Formed in September 2021, the quartet consists of four young, passionate Korean women residing in Germany.

 

They were awarded the special prize for the best performance of a new commissioned string quartet by Gérard Pesson at the 13th Premio Paolo Borciani competition and were semi-finalists at the 2023 Concours de Genève. Shortly after their formation, they performed concerts at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Japanese Osaka Chamber Music Horizon, the Mozart Festival of HfM Hanns Eisler Berlin, the 50th Anniversary Summer Festival of HMTM Hannover, the Crescendo Festival of the Universität der Künste Berlin, and Music in PyeongChang. 

 

They performed as featured artists at the 2024 Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker, the 2024 McGill International String Quartet Academy (MISQA), and Traiettorie 2024. They were also selected as scholarship recipients by Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland and took part in the Hohenloher Kultursommer 2024. In addition, the Ast Quartet was honored with the Ernst von Siemens Music Scholarship, the Börsenclub Hannover “Startup-Musician” award, and a scholarship from the Förderkreis der HMTMH e.V.

 

Ast Quartet studied at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover under Professor Oliver Wille and has drawn diverse musical inspiration from masterclasses with Corina Belcea, Kuss Quartet, Eberhard Feltz, Mathieu Herzog, Heime Müller, Midori, Wolfgang Redik, Philip Setzer, and Tabea Zimmermann.

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The quartet is a member of the Chamber Music Association “Le Dimore del Quartetto” .