The WaveQuartet

Founded in 2008 by world-renowned marimbist Bogdan Băcanu, the Wave Quartet has become one of the leading marimba ensembles on the international stage. The ensemble emerged from Băcanu’s work on a new marimba adaptation of J. S. Bach’s three concertos for two harpsichords, joining forces with his former student Christoph Sietzen, prize-winner at the 2014 ARD International Music Competition and an ECHO Rising Star for the 2017/18 season; Emiko Uchiyama, a multiple international competition winner; and Nico Gerstmayer, percussionist with the Bruckner Orchester Linz.

The Wave Quartet made its debut in 2008 at the Konzerthaus Berlin with Bach’s Concerto in C major (BWV 1061a) arranged for four marimbas, praised for their respect to Bach’s original score and their sensitivity to a historically informed performance. Since then, the ensemble has continued to place Bach and his contemporaries at the heart of a wide-ranging repertoire that also encompasses works by Astor Piazzolla, Modest Mussorgsky and Avner Dorman, to name a few.

In the 2025-26 season, upcoming highlights include an ongoing collaboration with the Academy of Ancient Music, with performances at the Barbican in London and in Cambridge featuring music by Bach, Festa, Xenakis, and others. This season also brings appearances at the Kölner Philharmonie, the Salzkammergut Festival, and Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg.

The Wave Quartet has performed widely across Europe and Asia in prestigious venues such as the Musikverein Vienna, Cologne Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin and Vienna, Müpa Budapest, Birmingham Town Hall, BOZAR Brussels, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Suntory Hall Tokyo. Their international engagements have included performances with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Tonkünstler-Orchester, the Romanian National Symphony Orchestra, L’Orfeo Barockorchester and Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen.