A quartet for modern Berlin

Sonar Quartett makes the string quartet feel urgent, unpredictable and completely alive. Based in Berlin and internationally active, the ensemble brings together four musicians from different cultural backgrounds – four strong personalities united by an exceptional instinct for listening, risk and musical communication.

In 2026/27, Sonar Quartett centres its work on George Crumb’s Black Angels. Built around the iconic quartet, Sonar Quartett’s BLACK ANGELS: WHOLE NEW WORLD turns themes of violence, memory and transformation into a powerful live experience, drawing on music from across history and genres. Movements from Messiaen’s transcendent Quartet for the End of Time sit next to the industrial beats of Jlin; utopian Kraftwerk emerges from the dystopian soundtrack of the film Blade Runner; and John Cage’s 4’33” takes on new meaning as a reflection on Cage’s war machines. Following the ensemble’s successful appearance at the Konzerthaus Berlin, BLACK ANGELS: WHOLE NEW WORLD is set to travel to audiences in Europe and Asia.

Rooted in the contemporary-music scene, Sonar Quartett refuses to treat repertoire as a museum. Beethoven and Fanny Mendelssohn, George Crumb and Sofia Gubaidulina, Philip Glass, John Zorn and newly commissioned works all become part of a single musical conversation. The quartet’s programmes are built as journeys: carefully shaped around a major work, then opened up through daring juxtapositions, new music, improvisation and imaginative arrangements by the quartet themselves.

Sonar Quartett combines the precision and intensity of a first-class chamber ensemble with the curiosity of musical explorers. The four musicians work closely with living composers, perform and record new works, create their own collective compositions, and collaborate across genres and disciplines. Electronics, extended techniques and physical theatricality can enter the concert hall – not as effects, but as natural extensions of the quartet’s sound and presence.

The quartet has appeared at leading festivals and concert platforms in Europe, Asia and Latin America, including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Gaudeamus Utrecht, Présences Paris, London Ears, Pan Music Festival Seoul, Ultraschall Berlin, MaerzMusik and the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik. Since 2023, Sonar Quartett has curated SONARLOFT at Kühlhaus Berlin — a concert series where established repertoire, emerging voices, electronics and improvisation meet.