Transcend

Description

Joaquín Sáez Belmonte, Xavier Larsson Paez, José Manuel Bañuls Marcos and Xabier Casal Ares have grown together as a sort of family since the Fukio Quartet was founded in 2008. The four musicians work together closely and follow a path that considers each individual performer. This sense of togetherness comes to light in their new recording TRANSCEND.

The state of uncertainty that in a way defines every crisis — in the sense, that the next decision or the next turn, remains unclear — represents a crucial part of the quartet's work. And so, TRANSCEND illustrates their experiences and feelings of the global crisis that has influenced their work for many months: the Coronavirus pandemic. Between cancelled concerts and the uncertainty of if and when it will be possible to play together live again, they created this album.

The Cologne-based quartet has worked closely with renowned composers such as Georges Aperghis, Fabien Levy 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 Kruger, Birke Bertelsmeier, Thierry Tidrow, and Camilo Mendez-San Juan. 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 Kolner Philharmonie, Mozartfest Wurzburg, Intersonanzen Potsdam, Spitzentone and Romanischer Sommer Koln. The quartet has won first prize at several international competitions including the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerbes fur Neue Musik in Berlin, Karlsruher Wettbewerb fur die Interpretation Neue Musik, Coop Music Awards in Milan and the 20th International Chamber Music Competition in Illzach.