The Borusan Quartet was founded in 2005 under the guidance of Maestro Gürer Aykal and comprises of Esen Kıvrak (1st violin), Olgu Kızılay (2nd violin), Efdal Altun (viola) and Çağ Erçağ (cello). They have since joined master-classes of Alban Berg Quartet, Juilliard Quartet, Gürer Aykal, Joshua Epstein and Maxim Vengerov. They play on invaluable instruments like Lorenzo Storioni, Nicoló Amati, Stefano Conia ve Petrus Guarneri granted to them by the Borusan Culture and Arts in collaboration with the Maggini Foundation in Switzerland.
In addition to their regular performances at the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy, Istanbul, the Quartet enjoys a busy schedule with concerts in France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, Algeria, Qatar, Saint Vincent, Barbados and USA as well as tours nationally and internationally. They received the “Chamber Ensemble of the Year” award at the Turkish Andante magazine’s first Classical Music Awards in May 2010 and the same year, won the gold medal at the 2010 ICMEC International Chamber Music Competition the finale of which was held at the Carnegie Weill Recitall Hall, NY.
The musical events they have participated include Istanbul Music Festival, Ankara Music Festival, Napfilon Festival (Greece), Antalya Piano Festival, Merano Festival (Italy), D-Marin Festival (Bodrum), Schleswig-Holstein Festival and Mozart Festival (Germany) and last season, they performed at the closing concert of the “Quartet Plus” chamber music series at the prestigious Schloss Elmau, Germany.
Having performed performed as soloists with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Bilkent Symphonic, Izmir, Istanbul, Bursa and Eskişehir Symphony Orchestras, Borusan Quartet enjoys chamber music partnerships with distinguished artists such as Fazıl Say, İdil Biret, Itamar Golan, Valentin Erben, Gülsin Onay, Hüseyin Sermet, Ruşen Güneş, Toros Can ve Muhiddin Dürrüoğlu. Their repertoire encompasses a wide range of works from the classical period to the modern era with particular emphasis on the works of Turkish composers.
Borusan Quartet’s concert gowns are designed by Hatice Gökçe.