Blaž Kemperle – soprano saxophone
Jacopo Taddei – alto saxophone
Alan Lužar – tenor saxophone
Guerino Bellarosa – baritone saxophone
The four musicians Blaž Kemperle, Jacopo Taddei, Alan Lužar and Guerino Bellarosa met in Cologne where they founded the SIGNUM saxophone quartet in 2006. The saxophonists have studied in Cologne, Vienna and Paris; they have been influenced and inspired by the Quatuor Ébène, Artemis Quartet and Gabor Takács-Nágy.
Award winners at international competitions including Lugano and Berlin, SIGNUM nowadays play in concert halls and at festivals all over Europe. In 2013 they made their debut in the Carnegie Hall NY. A very special and remarkable achievement was the award Rising Stars 2014/2015 given by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO), which took SIGNUM to such prestigious concert halls as the Barbican Centre London, Konzerthaus Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Gulbenkian Lisbon, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Philharmonie Cologne, amongst others. Recently SIGNUM was awarded “Best Ensemble” by prestigious German Festival Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern.
SIGNUM are constantly searching for new ideas, ground breaking challenges and intriguing artistic encounters. Their sheer joy and experimental versatility are reflected in their extraordinary programs; the four young musicians are also to be heard in classical quartet formations and they continue to create exciting, never before seen joint arrangements with inspiring soundscapes.
SIGNUM loves performing with exciting chamber music partners and friends, among them: Alexej Gerassimez (percussion): Starry Night; Tanja Tetzlaff and Konstantin Manaev (cello): BACHianas; Kai Schumacher (piano & prepared piano): Goldberg Nights; and Ksenija Sidorova (accordion) in a brand new project: Anima. Following the performance at Hope@Home (Arte TV, 2020), in 2023 they will happily be on stage with Daniel Hope again. The quartet regularly performs with orchestra, which is a high priority for them. The SIGNUMs also care deeply about the audience of tomorrow, and so they have devised their own educational family concert SIGNUM4kids. In November 2022, SIGNUM is particularly looking forward to their first 1-month tour in Australia.
Following their first two albums, Debut (2011) and Balkanication (2014), in 2021 SIGNUM presents two new recordings: Starry Night (with Alexej Gerassimez) and their first Deutsche Grammophon’s album ECHOES featuring inventive arrangements by composers from Dowland, Faurè and Albinoni to Peter Gregson, as well as Guillermo Lago’s ‘Sarajevo’, original for saxophone quartet and including also standout tracks by Max Richter and Joep Beving. The launch has been marked by a concert on DG Stage streamed from the Berlin Meistersaal.
SIGNUM is a Selmer Paris and D’Addario Woodwinds Artist.