The Italian Saxophone Quartet was founded by saxophone virtuoso Federico Mondelci in 1982, making it one of the longest-lived groups currently active on the world stage. Determined to perform chamber music for saxophone at the very highest artistic level, the ISQ won a number of important chamber music competitions shortly after their founding, including the unanimous First Prize at the prestigious Premio Ancona. Since then, they have been giving exciting and eclectic performances to adoring crowds from New York to Tokyo, Athens to Bermuda.

Over 40 eminent contemporary composers have dedicated works to the ISQ. The quartet has performed the world and/or European premieres of many eminent composers such as Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, Luciano Berio, Salvatore Sciarrino, Franco Donatoni, Henri Pousseur, and the American composer Joe Harnell.

The ISQ organized the 10th World Saxophone Congress in Pesaro, Italy (Rossini's birthplace), in the city's historic Rossini Theatre named for the famous composer. Drawing an unprecedented 550 soloists and groups from 22 countries, this festival was awarded the "Kaleidoscope Award" by the commission of the European Community.

Highlights of the ISQ's U.S. activities include two concerts on the venerable Dumbarton Oaks series in Washington, DC and four on the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles. International engagements have included the Bermuda International Festival, the Alicante Festival (Spain), the Oleg Kagan Musikfest in Munich, and the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut.

Other recent tours have brought ISQ to Berlin, Vienna, Dublin, Cairo and Yerevan (Armenia), as well as nearly every major Italian city. They made their second tour of China in 2024, including a performance at the prestigious Shanghai International Arts Festival.

REVIEWS: “As close to a religious experience as you could get without being in church.” —L.A. OBSERVED

"QUARTET ROCKS THE HOUSE [Headline] A true world-class act . . . It was the total package that wowed the audience. Every note of the evening was exquisite, and this team really knew how to put on a show . . . with a program that spanned the globe and musical styles . . . masters at working the crowd . . . brilliant fingerwork . . . With perfection of style, timing, and showmanship throughout the program, they had all dancing and frolicking right along with them . . . Bravissimo, maestri!” —Sarasota Herald Tribune

“Think you don't like saxophone quartets? Oh my, think again! . . . A revelation . . . knocked me out from the first notes.” —MONTEREY PENINSULA HERALD

“CONCERT A SELL-OUT [Headline] An overwhelming success . . . It was standing-room-only to hear an extraordinary performance by four of the top saxophonists on the international scene. The unsurpassed masters immersed the audience in an indescribable atmosphere . . . Ethereal and sensual sounds alternated with blazing virtuosity . . . The audience was conquered, and entranced, and they exploded in a standing ovation, demanding encore after encore—and were repeatedly satisfied.” —Il Corriere Adriatico

“Enthusiasm reached stratospheric heights for the Italian Saxophone Quartet . . . seductive and impassioned . . . a scintillating whirlwind of a performance, shifting from muscular sonorities to delicate wisps of sound . . . jaw-dropping virtuosity.” — MESSAGGERO VENETO

“Never before have I heard anything quite as wonderful!” - Joe Harnell, four-time Grammy winning composer

“Boasts a notable career, and has placed itself squarely among the most interesting groups on the Italian musical scene, as much for the the originality of its instrumentation as for the unquestionable quality of its performance.” -IL MESSAGGERO, Rome

“A perfect ensemble . . . spectacular . . . sure to be talked about.” - GAZZETTA DEL SUD

“Genuine and spontaneous performances.” - BERGAMO OGGI

“There was musicality to burn-and technique likewise. Intense applause. They could have gone on playing for us all night.” -LA REPUBBLICA, Rome

“Secure intuition . . . mastery of their instruments . . . tight and well-blended ensemble.” -IL TEMPO, Rome

“The long, heartfelt and extremely warm applause earned two encores.” -IL RESTO DEL CARLINO

A few words about the saxophone and the saxophone quartet from Federico Mondelci:

In 1842, when the saxophone created by Adolphe Sax was still in its infancy, the composer Hector Berlioz wrote: "Its merit, in my opinion, lies in the variable beauty of its accent, at times grave and calm, at times passionate, dreamy or melancholy, vague as the echo of an echo, like the indistinct cry of the breeze in the woods; or rather, like the mysterious vibrations of a bell long after being struck. I know of no other musical instrument currently in use that possesses this unique sonority, situated on the verge of silence."

The saxophone has come a long way since then, winning over composers of classical, jazz and popular music. Over time, a literature for sax quartet also developed (a modern, more easy-going and light-hearted counterpart to the aristocratic string quartet of the classical-romantic tradition) made up of both original pieces and transcriptions.