Elaia Quartet

Germany

Leonie Flaksman, violin 
Iris Günther, violin 
Rivinius Francesca, viola 
Karolin Spegg, cello 

Biography

The Elaia Quartet, founded in the autumn of 2020, is a young string quartet from Germany. 
They made their debut at the Ascoli Piceno Festival in Italy in autumn 2021 and were subsequently invited to be Artists in Residence for the following year. The quartet has also performed at the PODIUM Esslingen, participated in various concerts, educational programs and a radio play production. In September 2023, they served as Artists in Residence at the Golden Summits Classics Festival Ischgl, Austria. 
In 2022, the quartet earned a scholarship and became part of the concert support program of the German Music Council after reaching the finals of the German Music Competition. They also won the second prize in the Zukunftsklang Award competition that year. Since 2023, they have been part of the Italian support network Le Dimore del Quartetto and received a scholarship from Jeunesses Musicales Germany. 
Beyond their string quartet formation, they regularly collaborate with other musicians, including Karl Leister, former principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, and Baroque specialist and cellist Christophe Coin. 
Having studied at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Wolfgang Redik, the quartet is currently enrolled at the Ebène Academy at the music school in Munich.  
They have also been influenced by the former members of the Artemis Quartett (Heime Müller, Eckart Runge, Gregor Sigl, Volker Jacobsen), by the Kronos Quartet, the Kuss Quartett and the Cuarteto Quiroga.