© Daniele Caminiti
The word "HOAX", originally derived from the word "hocus pocus", describes an untruth masquerading as truth. This name represents the quartet's enthusiasm for surprising, enigmatic, ambiguous, provocative and engaging new music. The HOAX Quartet was founded in 2017 by the four young guitarists Agustin Nazzetta, Damiano Pisanello, Jinhee Kim and Tobias Krebs, who dedicate their passion to modern music for guitar. Their broad repertoire includes not only existing works in various styles such as those by Vinko Globokar, Steve Reich, Michel Roth, James Saunders, Beat Furrer and Georg Friedrich Haas, but also collaborations with young composers such as Demetre Gamsachurdia, Joss Smith, Manuel Zweger and Tobias Krebs. The HOAX Quartet explores new forms of performance, including the use of unusual playing techniques and the incorporation of audio-visual elements in the digital realm. A special concern of the HOAX Quartet is to collaborate with composers in Switzerland and abroad, so that the commissioned works are created in a "co-composition". The lively exchange between performers and composers is a rewarding and inspiring experience for both sides.
Jinhee Kim (*1992, Seoul) is a professor of guitar at the University of Music Trossingen. She has won numerous international guitar competitions, including first prize at the Adelaide International Guitar Competition at the age of 18. Kim has performed concerts around the world and is a member of the HOAX Quartet and ÉRMA Ensemble, where she has performed a contemporary music repertoire for classical and electric guitar. Additionally, she has pursued studies in music physiology at the Zurich University of the Arts to enhance her pedagogical activities.
Agustin Nazzetta (*1990, Argentina) has been trained by several renowned professors. He holds degrees from several institutions, including the Basel Music Academy and the University Mozarteum in Salzburg. He has received several awards at international guitar competitions and has performed in major concert halls in Europe and South America. Nazzetta is also interested in contemporary music and collaborates with young composers and ensembles, including Supernovae, HOAX Quartet, and EMC Damus.
Damiano Pisanello (*1990, Switzerland) studied guitar in Geneva and Basel, expanding his repertoire at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the Segovia Academy in Pordenone. He has won numerous awards, including first prizes at the Concours International de Guitare d'Antony, Concorso di esecuzione Claxica, and Concurso International de Guitarra Clásica de Sevilla. As a soloist, he has performed with the Kammerorchester Basel and the Zürcher Kammerorchester. Pisanello is a member of the HOAX Quartet and has recorded his first album, "Orphenica Lyra," with the Contrastes Records label.
Tobias Krebs (*1993, Switzerland) is a composer and classical guitarist. From 2012 to 2019, he studied at the University of Music Basel and the Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium in Aarhus (DK), focusing on the interpretation of contemporary music. His compositions have been performed by renowned ensembles and interpreters both nationally and internationally, including the Zürcher Kammerorchester, ensemble recherche, ensemble proton bern, Calvino Trio, Gyre Ensemble, Ensemble Phoenix Basel, and soloists such as Pablo Márquez and Marcus Weiss.
