The ARTE Quartett was founded in 1995 by the four Saxophonists Beat Hofstetter, Sascha Armbruster, Andrea Formenti and Beat Kappeler. The musicians have a classical background yet they are stylistically open-minded, a fact that is shown by their intense cooperation with musicians and composers of various styles. The ARTE Quartett is mainly committed to contemporary music and its various aspects. Since the foundation of the quartet, ARTE has personally cooperated with many composers, which has permitted the group to be involved in the developing process of composing. ARTE has premiered a great number of commissions. Part of the concept is a clearly structured and well reasoned programming as well as working repeatedly on larger projects.
During the last years ARTE’s projects have included concerts with Urs Leimgruber, Nadir Vassena, Hans Feigenwinter, Terry Riley, Michael Riessler, Tim Berne, Fred Frith, Nick Didkovsky, Pierre Favre, Lucas Niggli and Andreas Schaerer. The quartet tours regularly and plays on various festivals and concert series and has recorded a wide number of new pieces with various national broadcast companies. In the last few years the quartet has added more and more electronic to its own compositions and arrangements and presently the four musicians play also electric wind instruments (EWI) and commission new pieces. The projects with windcontroller are played with the same players under the name of EW-4.
Beat Hofstetter soprano sax
Born in Laufen (Switzerland). Performance and education studies for Saxophone and Conducting at the Conservatory in Basel, Northwestern University in Chicago (master of music) and “Hochschule für Musik” in Karlsruhe (Germany). Conducting various ensembles and orchestras. Winner of various grants and competitions in Switzerland. Teaching at Hochschule für Musik in Basel and Musikhochschule Lucerne.
Sascha Armbruster alto sax
Born in Lahr (Germany). Performance studies for Saxophone in Basel with Iwan Roth and Marcus Weiss. «Premier Prix à l’unanimité» at the Conservatoire Supérieur National de Paris with Claude Delangle. Winner of various competitions. Performing regularly as a chamber musician and with various orchestras throughout Europe. Teaching at the Musikhochschule Lucerne.
Andrea Formenti tenor sax
Born in Balerna (Switzerland). Teachers and Soloist Diploma in the class of Iwan Roth at the Conservatory in Basel. Winner of various grants and competitions. Music Teacher at Gymnasium Münchenstein.
Beat Kappeler baritone sax
Born in Reinach (Switzerland). Diploma for Saxophone in the class of Iwan Roth at the Conservatory in Basel. Concert Diploma for Saxophone at the Musikhochschule Zürich in the class of Marcus Weiss. Studies in electronic music. Performances with various chamber ensembles and orchestras. Beat Kappeler teaches Saxophone at different musicschools and highschools in Kanton Baselland
