Bringing Music to Life: The Malion Quartet’s Journey through the Merita Project
Stories | May 21, 2025
Deep in the heart of Europe, a bold and visionary string quartet is revolutionizing classical music performance. Frankfurt’s Malion Quartet not only brings chamber music to new audiences, but also injects it with theatrical storytelling, emotional depth, and boundary-breaking experimentation.
From One Concert to a Calling
Initiated in 2018 to perform just a single concert in honor of friendship, the Malion Quartet initially started out as a hobby. The concert ignited a spark further, and members of the group agreed to continue going after routine practice, studying lessons with their instructors and striving to become a professional group.
As the quartet formed, new members were integrated. Violinist Alex Jussow in 2020, violist Lilya Tymchyshyn, who moved to the US from the UK to join the group, in 2020. Miki Nagahara took up the second violin position in 2023. With cellist Bettina Kessler, the quartet consists of members with different backgrounds but similar in mind: to make music that is alive and breathing.
Their name, Malion, comes from the mythic story of Pygmalion, the artist who carved a statue with so much love that it lived. For this quartet, it is their own motto: to make music so passionately, so imaginatively, that it will live. Something that affects others.
The Power of Merita
The Merita Project, funded by the European Union, is a dynamic community of artists united in their desire to revive the heritage of classical music. The Malion Quartet, for example, did not just view this as a chance to play, but to develop, to bond, and to work together beyond their usual area of work.
They came from Serbia, based at the beautiful Kaštel Ečka, where they performed with theater director Jovan Stamatovic Karic. That pushed them out of their musical comfort zone, into thinking beyond music – into movement, voice, presence, and character.
A Theatrical Leap with The Juliet Letters
Their work involved The Juliet Letters, a hauntingly lovely collection of songs written originally by Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet. nowing nothing of the works when they first took them on, the Malion Quartet instantly fell in love with their emotional resonance and imaginative room for dramatic reinterpretation.
Working with Jovan, they transformed the songs into a stage show with music, narrative, movement and revelation. “We were thrown in at the deep end,” they shared, “but it was the most refreshing experience. It pushed us to grow, both as artists and as individuals.”
Music That Speaks to the Soul
What distinguishes the Malion Quartet’s performance isn’t just the repertoire – it’s their message. The concert invites the audience into a shared emotional space, to probe emotions normally hidden: jealousy, sorrow, longing, hope. In bringing together classical music and theatrical form, the quartet makes space for deep connection.
As Bettina puts it, “Our concert is about the feelings people don’t usually show. It’s a space where it’s okay to feel – whatever that may be.” The result is a powerful, universal experience that bridges genres, languages, and emotions.
Moving Forward
This Merita experience has opened fresh creative doors and deepened the Malion Quartet’s commitment to infusing classical music with life in innovative, unifying ways.
Their dream is to tour this project around Europe, playing The Juliet Letters and the artistic possibilities of interdisciplinary performance for audiences around the globe. “We want to reach more people,” they say, “and show that classical music can be surprising, fresh, and deeply human.”
In a world that sometimes seems polarized, the Malion Quartet is fulfilling music’s best function: making harmony, communication, and moments of change – one concert at a time.