Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world's most renowned string quartets and, for forty years, the leading proponent of Latin American music for the genre. Founded in Mexico in 1982, the Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, China, Japan, and New Zealand. They have premiered over a hundred works written for them, and they continue to introduce new and neglected composers to the genre. Winners of two
Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
The Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and promotes awareness of cultural diversity and the contributions of Latin musicians in the United St ...
, they have also been awarded the prestigious
Diapason d'Or
The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...
, have been recognized with the Mexican Music Critics Association Award, and have received three "Most Adventurous Programming" Awards from Chamber Music America/ASCAP.
Cuarteto Latinoamericano's members are three Bitrán brothers: violinists Saul and Aron and
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
Alvaro, with violist Javier Montiel. They have recorded more than 100 CDs, including nearly the entire Latin American repertoire for the string quartet. Volume 6 of their Villa-Lobos cycle of 17 string quartets on Dorian was nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
and a Latin Grammy for Best Chamber Music Recording. Their albums ''Brasileiro, works of Mignone'' (2012), and ''El Hilo Invisible'' (2016) won Latin Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album. The work Inca Dances by Gabriela Lena Frank, recorded by Cuarteto Latinoamericano with Manuel Barrueco, won the 2009 Latin Grammy for Best New Latin Composition.
Formed in Mexico in 1981, Cuarteto Latinoamericano was, from 1987 until 2008, quartet-in-residence at
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
in Pittsburgh. They have collaborated with many artists, including cellists
János Starker
János Starker (; ; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is consider ...
and Yehuda Hanani, pianists
Santiago Rodriguez, Cyprien Katsaris, Itamar Golan, and Rudolf Buchbinder, tenor
Ramón Vargas
Ramón Vargas (born 11 September 1960) is a Mexican operatic tenor. Since his debut in the early '90s, he has developed to become one of the most acclaimed tenors of the 21st century. Known for his most expressive and agile lyric tenor voice, he ...
, and guitarists Narciso Yepes,
Sharon Isbin
Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname.
In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...
, David Tanenbaum and
Manuel Barrueco
Manuel Barrueco (born December 16, 1952) is a Cuban classical guitarist. During three decades of concert performances he has performed and recorded across the United States and has been involved in many successful collaborations. In addition, he ...
. With Barrueco, they have played in some of the most important venues of the US and Europe, have recorded two CDs, and commissioned guitar quintets from American composers
Michael Daugherty and
Gabriela Lena Frank
Gabriela Lena Frank (born Berkeley, California, United States, September 1972) is an American pianist and composer of contemporary classical music.
Biography
Gabriela Lena Frank's father is an American of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and her mothe ...
.
Under the auspices of the
Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles of Venezuela, the Cuarteto created the Latin American Academy for String Quartets, based in
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
, which was active between 2008 and 2014. The Academy served as a training ground for five select young string quartets from the Sistema, groups which went on to lead active international careers. The Cuarteto Latinoamericano is represented in the United States by Tom Gallant at General Arts Touring.
In the Benelux countries, their agent is Martijn Jacobus, at Impulse Arts Management, and in Italy, Cuarteto Latinoamericano is represented by Valerio Novara.
Between 2004 and 2021 they were recipients of the México en Escena grants given by the Mexican government through FONCA (National Fund for Culture and the Arts).
Recordings
Cuarteto Latinoamericano has recorded over 100 CDs, which include the complete works for quartet by
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...
,
Silvestre Revueltas
Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez (December 31, 1899 – October 5, 1940) was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conductor.
Life
Revueltas was born in Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, and studied at the National Conservatory ...
,
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas.
Biography
Ginastera was born in Buen ...
,
Rodolfo Halffter
Rodolfo Halffter Escriche (October 20, 1900 – October 14, 1987) was a Spanish composer.
Early years
Born in Madrid, Spain, into a family of musicians, Rodolfo Halffter was the brother of Ernesto Halffter and uncle of Cristóbal Halffter, also c ...
,
Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by nativ ...
,
Manuel M. Ponce,
Mario Lavista
Mario Lavista (April 3, 1943 – November 4, 2021) was a Mexican composer, writer and intellectual.
Life and career
Lavista was born in Mexico City. He enrolled the Composition Workshop (Taller de Composición) at the National Conservatory in 19 ...
,
Francisco Mignone
Francisco Paulo Mignone (September 3, 1897, São Paulo – February 19, 1986, Rio de Janeiro) was one of the most significant figures in Brazilian classical music, and one of the most significant Brazilian composers after Heitor Villa-Lobos. I ...
,
Julián Orbón Julián Orbón de Soto (August 7, 1925, Avilés, Spain – May 21, 1991, Miami, Florida was a Cuban composer who lived and composed in Spain, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States of America. Aaron Copland referred to Orbón as "Cuba's most gifte ...
,
Ruperto Chapí
Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909) was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers.
Biography
Chapí was born at Villena, the son of a Valencian barber. He trained in his home to ...
and many other Latin American and Spanish composers. Their sixth and final album of Heitor Villa-Lobos's string quartets, Quartets Nos. 4, 9, and 11, was nominated for two
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
s (Best Chamber Music and Best Latin Music) in 2002. For
Élan Recordings
Élan Recordings is an independent record label specializing in classical music.
History
Élan Recordings was established in 1985 by pianist Santiago Rodriguez and his wife, Natalia Rodriguez. The catalogue features numerous Spanish/Latin reco ...
, they have recorded ''Ginastera: The Three String Quartets'' and ''Latin American String Quartets'', which includes the world premiere recordings of Orbón's ''String Quartet'' and Lavista's ''Reflejos de la Noche''. As of 2011, the Cuarteto Latinoamericano is under a recording agreement with Sono Luminus, for whom they have released five albums: ''Encores'' (2010), ''Mexican Romantic Quartets'' (2011), ''Brasileiro: Works of Mignone'' (2012), which won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album, ''Ruperto Chapí: String Quartets Vol. 1'' (2014) and ''Ruperto Chapí: String Quartets Vol. 2'' (2021). ''Volume 1'' was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2015.
Their 2015 album ''El Hilo Invisible'', with Mexican singer Jaramar, won the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album.
Members
*Saúl Bitrán – violin I,
*Arón Bitrán – violin II,
*Javier Montiel – viola,
*Alvaro Bitrán – cello
References
External links
Official siteConcert calendarCuarteto Latinoamericano on Dorian Sono Luminus Records Interview with guitarist Manuel Barrueco about working with Cuarteto LatinoamericanoArt of the States: Cuarteto Latinoamericanoperforming ''Memorias Tropicales'' (1985) by
Roberto Sierra
Roberto Sierra (born 9 October 1953) is a Puerto Rican composer of contemporary classical music.
Life
Sierra was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He studied composition in Europe, notably with György Ligeti in Hamburg (1979–1982), Germany. Af ...
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Mexican musical groups
String quartets
Musical groups established in 1981
Carnegie Mellon University
1981 establishments in Mexico
Latin Grammy Award winners