Wolfram Van Mechelen - Violin

Ludovic Bataillie - Violin

Rhea Vanhellemont - Viola

Pieter-Jan De Smet - Cello

Instruments

Wolfram plays on a violin crafted by Émile Laurent (1854-1914), in collaboration with his son Albert Laurent, and loaned by the Strings For Talent fund and the King Baudouin Foundation, in memory of Leon and George Meersman.

Ludovic plays on a violin crafted by André-Augustin Chevry in 1830.

Rhea plays on a viola crafted by Noémie Viaud in 2023, lent by the Strings For Talent fund and the King Baudouin Foundation.

Pieter-Jan plays on the ‘Papillon’ cello crafted by Stijn van Aerschot in 2022.

Praised for their "precise, incisive, yet always warm and velvety sound" (MUSIQ3 Belgium), the Desguin Quartet has gained recognition as a dynamic and versatile ensemble since its founding in 2017 at the Antwerp Conservatory. 

They were named ‘Artist in Residence’ by SWUK Vlaanderen in 2018 and have studied with members of the Alban Berg, Danel, Doric, Ébène, and Zemlinsky Quartets at institutions like the Orpheus Institute and Pro Quartet Academy.

In 2020 they won the Supernova Classics competition and received the audience prize. The quartet is part of the Italian 'Le Dimore Del Quartetto' network and was featured in TheStrad as one of the selected quartets for the European MERITA Platform. 

They regularly perform at major international venues and festivals, including BOZAR Next Generation, Klarafestival, Festival van Vlaanderen, String Quartet Biënnale Amsterdam, Quartettissimo Festival (Hungary), Kolarac Foundation (Serbia), Filarmonica Trento (Italy), Musikcollagen Darmstadt (Germany). In 2024 the Desguin Kwartet went on a Chinese tour:  they gave masterclasses at the South China Normal University and played at major Chinese venues such as Guangzhou Opera House and Hangzhou Grand Theater.

Their musical collaborators include clarinetist Sabine Meyer, baritone Werner Van Mechelen, jazz pianist Fred Hersch, cellist Benjamin Glorieux, soprano Emma Posman and the Zemlinsky Quartet.
Every two years, the quartet creates a new musical portrait of a famous composer, in collaboration with pianist Florestan Bataillie and prominent Belgian actors: Tchaikovsky, Secrets of a Great Artist (2022); Dvorak, my Land or my Love (2024); Grieg, the Sound of the North (2026).

Their discography showcases Belgian repertoire, including Fingerprints#4 (2022) and Flor Alpaerts String Quartets (2024). Their contributions to Flemish music earned them the 2022 Fuga Trofee from the Union of Belgian Composers. In 2026 they recorded the latest stringquartet by Mathias Coppens: A Young Poet’s Collection of Moods and Confessions.
A live recording of the Desguin Quartet’s concert with Sabine Meyer has been released as an album, now available on Spotify. The livestream of their concert in October 2025 for Belgian radio Klara can be found on YouTube.