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, Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Suntory Hall among many others.
The quartet 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, Schubert and Brahms, through 20th Century greats Debussy, Ravel and Zemlinsky, as well as a live Blue-Ray recording of the complete Schubert quartets, for Neu Records.
In 2020 Harmonia Mundi released to great critical acclaim the final instalment of Cuarteto Casals’ three-volume survey of the complete Beethoven quartets entitled ‘Inventions,’ ‘Revelations,’ and ‘Apotheosis,’ respectively. In the following year, the quartet released the second part of its recording of the six Mozart quartets dedicated to Haydn, a performance which Strad magazine described as ‘a poignant distillation of the music’s very essence.’
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.
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 the privilege of performing regularly on the extraordinary collection of decorated Stradivarius instruments at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Cuarteto Casals often appears on television and radio throughout Europe and North America, and in addition to giving much sought-after masterclasses, is quartet in residence at the Koninklijk Conservaotrium Den Haag, the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole and at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona, where all four members reside.
