Award-winning string quartet brings brilliance to chamber music

Since its founding at the Korean National University of Arts in 2007, the NOVUS Quartet has become one of South Korea’s leading chamber ensembles. Its international breakthrough came in 2012, when it won the second prize at the prestigious ARD International Music Competition in Munich, followed two years later by the first prize at the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, chaired by Lukas Hagen of the legendary Hagen Quartet.

Acclaimed for playing that is “incredibly solid and well-balanced… enthralling” (RBB Kulturradio), NOVUS has appeared at prestigious venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. In 2022–23, it held a residency at Wigmore Hall, where its artistry won particular praise, and it now brings its brilliance to the HKAF in a concert featuring works by Puccini, Brahms, Schulhoff and Dvořák.

The ensemble’s discography includes a complete recording of Brahms’ quartets, demonstrating both its technical assurance and its commitment to legacy-building through cycles of great repertoire. The members of the quartet, who are currently professors at their alma mater, now share their insights with the next generation of Korean musicians, while continuing to captivate audiences worldwide.

Advance bookings will start at 10am on 16 October 2025