Biography
About Javus
Our Story
Hello and welcome to our website! We are the Javus Quartet, consisting of Marie, Alex, Marvin, and Oscar.
Marie, Alex, and Oscar are three native Salzburgers who have known each other since their school days. After our initial chamber music experiences in various ensembles, we eventually formed the quartet. We imported Marvin from East Germany in 2023. Lukas Hagen, who is both Marie's and Alex's professor at the Mozarteum and Oscar's father, has been with us as an ensemble from Step One, shaping our musical vision the most. A pivotal moment for the quartet was in 2017 during a course in Basel with Eberhard Feltz. He spent hours working with us on a Shostakovich quartet, revealing a new world to us. As passionate chamber musicians, we have the great privilege of delving into the most significant works of this genre daily, reaching the core of the music.
As Salzburg eventually became too small for us, we decided on Vienna as our common base in 2021, where we work with Johannes Meissl. The most important thing for us is standing together on stage and sharing our mutual love for chamber music.
Biography
The Javus Quartet is a string quartet from Salzburg, consisting of violinists Marie-Therese Schwöllinger, Alexandra Moser, violist Marvin Stark, and cellist Oscar Hagen. These four young musicians have been playing together in various formations for many years and founded the Javus Quartet in 2016. They have been significantly influenced in their development by Lukas Hagen, the first violinist of the Hagen Quartet.
Currently, the ensemble is studying with Johannes Meissl at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
and receiving inspiration through collaboration with leading chamber music professors worldwide. Notably, they have worked with Eberhard Feltz, Hatto Beyerle, Gerhard Schulz, Valentin Erben, Rainer Schmidt, and Thomas Adès. Their active concert schedule both domestically and internationally has led them to prestigious venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, Konzerthaus Wien, Konzerthaus Blaibach, Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg, as well as music festivals like the "Mattseer Diabelli Sommer" and the "Mozartwoche Salzburg". Their chamber music partners include Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg Quartet, Jean and Agnes Sulem, Matthias Schorn, and Pauline Sachse. The quartet received the "Music Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation" in 2024. In 2022, it was awarded the "Hans Gal Prize", the "Musica Juventutis Prize", the "Zukunftsklang Award Stuttgart" as well as the Audience Award of the "Irene Steels Wilsing Competition" within the framework of the "Heidelberger Frühling" in 2020.
Marie-Therese Schwöllinger
The Austrian violinist Marie-Therese Schwöllinger began her musical education at the age of four. She studied with Lukas Hagen at the University Mozarteum Salzburg, with Stephan Picard at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin, and with Tobias Feldmann at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.
In 2012, Marie-Therese won first place at the Ars Nova Competition in Trieste and was awarded the Primo Premio Assoluto. She served as concertmaster in the Salzburg State Youth Orchestra and was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the European Philharmonic of Switzerland for an extended period.
For many years, Marie-Therese has dedicated herself to chamber music, finding her greatest inspiration in collaborative performance. She has received significant (chamber) musical influences from Eberhard Feltz, Hatto Beyerle, the Hagen Quartet, Thomas Adès, and Leonidas Kavakos.
As a sought-after chamber musician on the international stage, she has performed with esteemed artists such as Lukas Hagen, Clemens Hagen, Veronika Hagen (Hagen Quartet), Herbert Schuch, Jean Sulem, Valentin Erben (Alban Berg Quartet), Pauline Sachse, Peter Bruns, and Tobias Feldmann. She has been a guest artist at venues including the Musikverein Wien, Grafenegg Festival, Mozartwoche Salzburg, Montecastelli Music Festival, and Con Spirito Festival Leipzig.
Marie-Therese is a member of the Musethica program and a recipient of the Villa Musica Chamber Music Foundation scholarship. She plays a violin crafted by Stefan-Peter Greiner (Bonn, 2005).
Alexandra Moser
The violinist Alexandra Moser, who hails from the Salzburg region, received her first violin lessons at the age of four. She soon became a student at the University Mozarteum Salzburg in the preparatory class taught by Prof. Lukas Hagen. This was followed by international solo performances with regional orchestras. Her academic career took her from Salzburg to Basel and then to Vienna, where she studied with Lukas Hagen, Barbara Doll, Johannes Meissl, Peter Schuhmayer, and Kristina Suklar. Additionally, she received musical inspiration from Nora Chastain, Rainer Schmidt, Pierre Amoyal, Friedemann Eichhorn, Vadim Gluzman, Clive Brown, Guy Braunstein, and Hatto Beyerle. Her passion lies particularly in chamber music. She is a member of organizations such as LiveMusicNow and Musethica International. She regularly performs chamber music at international, renowned festivals such as OCM Prussia Cove, Mozartwoche Salzburg, and Grafenegg Festival, collaborating with renowned musicians such as Lukas Hagen, Valentin Erben, Marianna Shirinyan, Harriet Krijgh, and Alena Baeva. Alexandra Moser is a founding member of the Javus Quartet.
Marvin Stark
Marvin Stark, born in 1999 in Halle (Saale), began playing the violin at the age of 5 at the "Georg Friedrich Händel" Conservatory. Later, he switched to the viola and received instruction from renowned professors at the University of Music "Franz Liszt" in Weimar. He continued his musical education at the Music Gymnasium Schloss Belvedere. In 2019, he commenced his studies with Prof. Pauline Sachse at the University of Music Lübeck (since 2023 at the University of Music in Leipzig) and also participated in exchange programs in Salzburg and Geneva. Marvin has successfully participated in national and international competitions, receiving several awards and prizes. He performed as a soloist with orchestras at the age of 13 and has since performed in renowned concert halls on all inhabited continents. Additionally, he is a recipient of scholarships from various musical foundations and a member of several select ensembles such as the LGT Young Soloists. Marvin plays a viola made by the Voller brothers from around 1900 in London, which is entrusted to him by a Viennese patron.
Oscar Hagen
Oscar Hagen was born in Salzburg in 1996. He studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Giovanni Gnocchi and in 2017 moved to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Stefan Kropfitsch. In the summer of 2015, she won 1st prize at the Premio Crescendo competition. In 2015 and 2016 Oscar was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and in 2017 and 2019 he took part in the Summer Academy of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He won the audition for the Academy of the Tonkunstler Orchestra for the 2018/2019 season.