Clair-Obscur Saxophone Quartet

Jan Schulte-Bunert soprano saxophone · Maike Krullmann alto saxophone Christoph Enzel tenor saxophone · Kathi Wagner baritone saxophone For many years, the clair-obscur saxophone quartet has been one of the most renowned ensembles of its kind, as proven by its appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Lucerne Festival, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

The top-notch musicianship of its individual members, who teach at several music universities and who regularly team up to form the Berliner Philharmoniker saxophone section, is heightened even more when they play together.
Clair-obscur was the first saxophone quartet to have been admitted to the chamber music exam at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin, where they were trained by Prof. Friedemann Weigle (Artemis Quartet). Weigle blended the four entirely different characters into a unity, giving them the courage to think independently – the ability to “rock n’ roll”, as he put it. The quartet went on to win a series of national and international competitions.

Clair-obscur’s outstanding quality, flexibility, and stylistic assurance enable the quartet to tackle every kind of music style “without blinders” at top performance level. The ensemble knows no taboos, playing what pleases them the most and thereby continually proving that audiences can be won over by any kind of music, provided it is well-played and well-presented.

It also has to sound good: clair-obscur writes ideal arrangements for itself (which are now being taken up by other ensembles), and they help the audience forget that all they have in front of them is “just a simple quartet”.

Thanks to clair-obscur’s unique sound, their congenially precise phrasing after twenty uninterrupted years of ensemble collaboration, and their laid-back, joyfully humorous stage presence, each of their recitals is transformed into an unforgettable experience.