VC Artist Suyeon Kang Joins The Belcea Quartet 

Suyeon will join the string quartet as its new second violinist from this season onward

Korean-Australian violinist VC Artist Suyeon Kang will succeed Axel Schacher as second violin of the Belcea Quartet, which also comprises violinist Corina Belcea, violist Krzysztof Chorzelski, and cellist Antoine Lederlin.

Born in 1989, Suyeon has been based in Europe since she was 17. Currently living in Berlin, she is a founding member of the Trio Boccherini string trio and was appointed concertmaster of the Kammerakademie Potsdam in 2021.

A prizewinner at the Yehudi Menuhin, Michael Hill, Leopold Mozart, Bayreuth, Buenos Aires, and Indianapolis international violin competitions, Suyeon was also a Symphony Australia ABC Young Performer of the Year, which saw the release of her first CD with ABC Classics at the age of 16. 

She has since performed as a member of the Camerata Bern, and led the Baroque Orchestra of Seville, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, CHAARTS Chamber Artists, Camerata Strumentale Città di Prato, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Her mentors have included Antje Weithaas, Daniel Gaede, Rainer Schmidt, Hatto Beyerle, Goetz Richter, Alice Waten, and Josette Esquedin Morgan. 

In late 2023, she will begin teaching a violin class at the Hochschule fur Musik (HfM) Hanns Eisler Berlin, having previously served as teaching assistant to Weithaas, as well as to Gaede at HfM Nürnberg.

Suyeon plays on a 2019 custom-made violin by Julia Maria Pasch in Vienna, and modern bows crafted by Franziska Gerstner and Thomas Acker.

She will join the Belcea Quartet in upcoming guest appearances at European String Quartet biennials in Paris, Lisbon, and Amsterdam, as well as in venues including Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Flagey Brussels, National Concert Hall Dublin, Tonhalle Zurich, and Toppan Hall Tokyo.

From 2017 to 2020, the Belcea Quartet was the Ensemble-in-Residence at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Hall, where they have since performed regularly. Since 2010, the group has also been in a shared String Quartet series at the Vienna Konzerthaus, where Quatuor Ébène was recently announced as its partner ensemble.

“Suyeon brings into our quartet not only her wonderful violin playing but also a vibrant and warm personality that will no doubt enrich us greatly in the years to come,” the Belcea Quartet wrote on Facebook. “We thank our dear friend Axel for many unforgettable years of musical adventure together and wish him all the happiness and success in the future.”

“Belcea Quartet [is] a group I have long admired,” Suyeon posted on Facebook. “Thank you Corina, Krzysztof and Antoine for your kindness and warmth, and for opening the door to your world so wholeheartedly. Looking forward to lots of inner voice searching for the years to come!”