Biography
Sophie Tangermann – Violin
Lorenz Swyngedouw – Violin
Björn Sperling – Viola
Konstantin Bruns – Cello
The Albis String Quartet takes its name from the place where the four ensemble members are based: Magdeburg on the Elbe (Latin: Albis). From there, Sophie Tangermann founded the quartet in 2020 with the aim of recording and premiering in concert the works of her grandfather, Klaus Fischer-Dieskau.
In the autumn of 2020, this led to a CD recording featuring two of Klaus Fischer-Dieskau’s string quartets (No. 1 and No. 4). In the following year, the 4th Quartet received its world premiere as part of a festive concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
In its current lineup, the quartet consists of distinguished specialists in chamber music. The musicians feel equally at home with chamber music of the 20th and 21st centuries as well as with works from all other periods of the quartet repertoire, approaching each piece with passion.
Sophie Tangermann
Music has always played a central role in Sophie Tangermann’s family, and she discovered her passion for the violin at an early age. She began her studies as a young student at the Julius Stern Institute of the UDK Berlin with Marianne Boettcher and continued her training at the Hanns Eisler School of Music under Stephan Picard. She further enriched her artistry through masterclasses with Silvia Markovici, Kolja Blacher, Ulf Hoelscher, Zakhar Bron, and Christian Tetzlaff.
Sophie has received numerous awards, including the Maddy Summer Artist Award from the Interlochen Center for the Arts (USA), multiple first prizes at the national competition Jugend musiziert, first prize at the Ibolyka-Gyarfas Violin Competition in Berlin, and several prizes at international competitions. She was a scholarship recipient of the Richard Wagner Association in 2012 and in 2017 received the Young Artists’ Promotion Award from the Förderverein Theater Magdeburg.
A versatile musician, Sophie Tangermann maintains an active solo career that has taken her across Europe, the USA, and China. Equally passionate about chamber music, she has collaborated with renowned artists including Paul Neubauer, Marta Gulyas, Jaime Martin, Rainer Zepperitz, and Natalia Gutman.
Her orchestral experience is equally impressive. She has performed with the Lautten Compagney Berlin, served as concertmaster in youth orchestras such as the Julius Stern Chamber Orchestra, Klangforum Mitte Europa, and the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, and regularly works as a guest concertmaster with ensembles including the Anhalt Philharmonic Dessau, Staatskapelle Weimar, Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra Flensburg, Staatsorchester Braunschweig, and the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Since 2011, Sophie Tangermann has held the position of Deputy First Concertmaster of the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Lorenz Swyngedouw
Lorenz Swyngedouw was born in Belgium into a family of musicians.
He studied at the Royal Conservatories of Music in Liège, Antwerp, and Brussels.
The Belgian violinist received important musical inspiration from renowned artists such as Pierre Amoyal, Zakhar Bron, and Pavel Vernikov.
A passionate orchestral musician, he has performed with several outstanding orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
As a dedicated chamber musician, Lorenz has appeared at renowned festivals such as the Festival de Wallonie and the Cordes en Balade.
Numerous concerts have taken him to major concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
Since 2019, Lorenz Swyngedouw has been a member of the first violin section of the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra and is also a member of the string orchestra Metamorphosen Berlin.
Björn Sperling
The violist Björn Sperling, born and raised in Baden-Württemberg, initially studied in Karlsruhe with Johannes Lüthy and later with Pauline Sachse in Dresden. Playing in orchestras has always been an integral part of his musical life: first as a student in the Landesjugendorchester Baden-Württemberg and the Bundesjugendorchester, and later during his studies as principal violist of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie.
He completed further training at the orchestral academy of the Essener Philharmoniker and at the Giuseppe Sinopoli Academy of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. This was followed by engagements with the Dresdner Philharmonie and as principal violist of the Philharmonisches Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck. Since 2021 he has served as section leader of the viola section of the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
He also dedicates himself passionately to chamber music. As a quartet musician he received the Eduard Söring Prize from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben as well as a prize at the Max Reger Chamber Music Competition. He has also appeared at the Musikfest der Deutschen Stiftung Musikleben and was a scholarship holder of the festival academy of the Heidelberger Frühling.
Konstantin Bruns
The cellist Konstantin Bruns, a native of Magdeburg, studied with Stephan Forck at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin and later with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt and Konstantin Heidrich at the Berlin University of the Arts.
For his outstanding achievements he has been awarded first prizes at the International Hindemith Competition, the International Music Competition Hamburg, and the Stockport International Music Competition. He is also a prizewinner of the Prague Spring International Music Competition, a scholarship holder of the German Music Competition, and an alumnus of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.
As a soloist he has performed with orchestras including the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Stockport Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared at festivals such as the Bodensee Festival, the Kissinger Sommer, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.
From 2017 to 2024, Konstantin Bruns taught as a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. From 2022 to 2024 he served as principal cellist of the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn. Since 2025 he has been coordinating principal cellist of the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
