Amai Quartet

Murasaki Fukuda Violin
Chiara Siciliano Violin
U Chon Wong Viola
Anna Tonini-Bossi Cello
Amai Quartet
Formed in late 2020, the Amai Quartet is composed of four musicians who graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW): Murasaki Fukuda, Chiara Siciliano (violins), U Chon Wong (viola), and Anna Tonini-Bossi (cello).

Just a few months after its foundation, the ensemble won third prize at the “Pakosky” Competition in Piacenza (June 2021), followed by first prize and the Audience Prize at the inaugural “Pietro Marzani” Competition for Young String Quartets in Rovereto (October 2021).
These successes quickly led to invitations from prestigious festivals and concert series in Italy and abroad, including Classiche Forme (Lecce), Fortissimissimo Firenze Festival, Kultursommer Wien (Vienna), Lingotto Musica (Turin), Musica con le Ali (Venice), Musica con Vista – Comitato Amur, Pianodrom (Tirana), Settenovecento (Rovereto), Orangerie Sonore (Paris) and Trame Sonore (Mantua).
The quartet has refined its artistry under the guidance of distinguished musicians, studying at MDW with Prof. Peter Matzka (Wiener Streichsextett, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna), Prof. Florian Schötz (Goldmund Quartet), musicologist Clive Brown and Prof.
Vida Vujic, as well as at the Accademia Stauffer in Cremona, where it earned the Stauffer Artist Diploma in Chamber Music under the mentorship of the Quartetto di Cremona. They have also participated in masterclasses with leading chamber musicians, including Xiang Lu and Danfeng Shen (Simply Quartet), Alexander Pavlovsky (Jerusalem Quartet), Günther Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet), Henk Guittart (Schönberg Quartet), Pavel Nikl (Pavel Haas Quartet) and Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartett).
Alongside the study and refinement of the standard classical repertoire, the ensemble has always been interested in exploring the vast range of sound possibilities of the string quartet, collaborating with various artists such as mezzo-soprano Manuela Leonhartsberger (Wiener Volksoper), clarinetist Gianluigi Caldarola (Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège), accordionist Pietro Roffi, and performing important works—often world premieres—by contemporary composers Rainer Bischof and Michael Public (Austria), Paolo Marzocchi (Italy), and Alexander Peçi (Albania). In addition, the quartet actively champions music by women composers past and present, from Fanny Hensel, Emilie Mayer and Amy Beach to Ruth Schonthal, Sylvie Bodorová, Silvia Colasanti and Caroline Shaw.
A key goal of the Amai Quartet since its inception has been to bring string quartet music beyond traditional concert halls: since 2021, the ensemble has been part of Yehudi Menuhin – Live Music Now Wien, an organization promoting concerts in schools, nursing homes, and prisons. Since 2023, the quartet has been developing innovative concert formats for children and families, combining music with theatre. These projects include the European MERITA Platform production Say it with Classical Music and the theatrical collaboration Planet Zauberflöte (2024) for Vienna’s Neue Staatsoper NEST.
The creative spirit and drive for innovation of the Amai Quartet led to the foundation, in November 2023, of the AMAI – Association for Music and Artistic Interaction, based in Vienna: a creative community dedicated to bringing classical music to new audiences and blending it with other art forms to create dynamic, engaging performances for diverse listeners.
https://www.amaiquartet.com/