Cuarteto Casals

Since winning First Prizes at the London and Brahms-Hamburg competitions, Cuarteto Casals, which was founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofía in Madrid, has been a continual guest at the world’s most prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Cité de la Musique Paris, Philharmonie Paris, Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Suntory Hall among many others. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the quartet released a recording of the complete ‘Art of Fugue’ by J.S. Bach to much critical acclaim and is currently undertaking a recording of all 15 quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich, one of the great cycles of the 20th Century, which will be released in the fall of 2024.

With more than 27 years of experience together, the Cuarteto Casals has compiled a substantial discography with the Harmonia Mundi label featuring repertoire ranging from lesser known Spanish composers Arriaga and Toldrá to Viennese classics Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, through 20th Century greats Debussy, Ravel, Zemlinsky, Bartok, Ligeti and Kurtag, as well as a live Blue-Ray recording of the complete Schubert quartets, for Neu Records. A prize from the prestigious Burletti-Buitoni Trust in London enabled the quartet to begin a collection of matching Baroque and Classical period bows which it uses for works from Purcell through Schubert, refining its ability to distinguish between diverse musical styles. In addition, the quartet has been profoundly influenced by its work with living composers, especially György Kurtág, and has given the world premiere of quartets written by leading Spanish composers, including a concerto for string quartet and orchestra by Francisco Coll, premiered with the Orquesta Nacional de España and commissions by Mauricio Sotelo, Benet Casablancas, Dahoud Salim, Lucio Amanti, Aureliano Cattaneo and Matan Porat. Additionally, the quartet has performed John Adam’s ‘Absolute Jest’ with many orchestras and will perform the world premiere of Elisenda Fabregas’s ‘Fiery Earth’ in the Palau de la Música Catalana in 2025.

In recognition of its unique contributions to the cultural life within Catalunya and throughout Spain, Cuarteto Casals has been acknowledged as cultural ambassadors by the Generalitat of Catalunya and the Institut Ramon Llull. Past awards include the Premio Nacional de Música, the Premi Nacional de Cultura de Catalunya and the Premi Ciutat Barcelona; additionally the quartet has had the privilege to perform repeatedly on the extraordinary collection of decorated Stradivarius instruments at the Royal Palace in Madrid. To honor Cuarteto Casals’ decades on the concert stage, the quartet has received the prestigious Medal of Honor from Reina Sofía of Spain.

In addition to giving much sought-after masterclasses, Cuarteto Casals is quartet in residence at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole , the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, and at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona. In 2024/25, the quartet starts a new chapter and welcomes Cristina Cordero on viola.