Praised for their warm sound and powerful stage presence, the Esmé Quartet was formed in 2016 in Cologne, Germany by four Korean musicians who had been friends since their youth. They shared common interests and passions in music, the arts, and life.

The Esmé Quartet brings together four brilliant and distinct musical personalities to form a cohesive, close-knit group that is passionately dedicated to the string quartet repertoire. The Quartet rapidly gained a worldwide reputation as a chamber ensemble of exceptional artistry and achievement. In the spring of 2018, the quartet won the first prize as well as sweeping four special prizes at the prestigious Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, and in the same year, it became HSBC Laureate of the Académie du Festival d’Aix. This recognition followed prizes at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition and the 55th Possehl Musikpreis Lübeck. In October 2020, the quartet was awarded the first Hans-Gál Prize by the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz and Villa Musica.

The Esmé Quartet was named the first Artists-in-Residence at the Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul, Korea for the 2020-2021 season. They have recently appeared at the Lucerne Festival, at Wigmore Hall and throughout the UK, at the Flagey Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, Auditori Barcelona, Opéra de Lille, and as the quartet in residency at the Aix-en-Provence festival, the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival and Classic Esterházy in Eisenstadt.

They made their highly acclaimed debut tour of the United States and Canada in Spring 2022 followed by their debut tour of Japan in Fall 2022. 

In spring 2023, the Esmé Quartet performed John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Gyeonggi Philharmonic. They also performed at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in Michel van der Aa’s The Book of Water with British actor Samuel West in February 2023.

Belgian-American violist Dimitri Murrath joined the Esme Quartet in 2023, upon the departure of violist Jiwon Kim.

Recent highlights include a tour of Italy, return engagements at the Wigmore Hall, along with concerts in Germany and Portugal. In January this year, the quartet had its recital debut in Kioi Hall, alongside performances of Adams’ “Absolute Jest” with the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra and John Adams conducting in Suntory and Bunka Kaikan. The quartet recently finished a US and Canada tour with 2017 Cliburn gold medalist Yekwon Sunwoo.

Upcoming projects include the quartet’s debut Australian tour, the closing concert at the McGill International String Quartet Academy, a US West Coast tour, and a reinvitation at Classic Esterházy in Eisenstadt.

The Esmé Quartet’s first international album “To Be Loved” on Alpha Classics with works by Beethoven, Unsuk Chin, and Frank Bridge, was released in 2020 and was named one of the best classical CDs of the year by WQRX Public Radio in New York City. Their second CD “Yessori” Sound from the Past, also on Alpha Classics, of works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Soo Yeon Lyuh was released in March 2023. In January this year, the quartet released an EP of Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 13 exclusively for Apple Music Classical Sessions.  

The Quartet has been mentored by artists such as Günter Pichler, Oliver Wille, Eberhard Feltz, Andràs Keller, Christoph Poppen, Jonathan Brown, and Heime Müller.

The Quartet takes its name “Esmé” from the old French word for “beloved.”