The Cuarteto Casals (''Casals Quartet'') is a Spanish

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

based at

l'Auditori L'Auditori () is a modern building of 42,000 square metres designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, opened on 22 March 1999, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is in the centre of the new pole of urban development of Plaça de les Glòries, which ...

in Barcelona, where all four members reside and teach at the

Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya The Catalonia College of Music ( ca, Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, ESMUC; ) is a music school in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The school is located at L'Auditori, a performing arts center inaugurated in 1999 which also houses three conc ...

Formation

The Cuarteto Casals was founded at the

Reina Sofía School of Music The Reina Sofía School of Music (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Spanish) is a private music school founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1991 by Paloma O'Shea. It belongs to the Albéniz Foundation, and it bears the name of its Honorary Pres ...

, Madrid, in 1997 under Professor Antonello Farulli. They have studied with

Walter Levin Walter Levin (December 6, 1924 – August 4, 2017) was the founder, first violinist, and guiding spirit of the LaSalle Quartet (active 1947–1987), which was known for its championing of contemporary composers, for its recordings of the Second V ...

and Rainer Schmidt in Barcelona, as well as undertaking graduate work in Cologne under the

Alban Berg Quartet The Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970, named after Alban Berg. Members Beginnings The Berg Quartet was founded in 1970 by four young professors of the Vienna Academy of Music, and made its debut in ...

and Harald Schoneweg. The quartet quickly achieved international acclaim when it won first prize at the 2000 London International String Quartet Competition, and then at the 2002 International Brahms Competition in Hamburg. In recognition of Cuarteto Casals' growing international profile, in 2006 they were honoured with Spain's

Premio Nacional de Música The National Music Award ( es, Premio Nacional de Música, links=no) is one of Spain's annual National Awards by the Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Mini ...

(National Music Award). A prize from the prestigious

Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Borletti-Buitoni Trust () (BBT) was established as a charitable trust in 2002 to help young musicians throughout the world. The Trust assists classical instrumentalists, ensembles and singers in their early 20s and 30s to further develop their ...

in London in 2008 enabled the quartet to purchase a matching set of Classical period bows. The quartet comprises: *Vera Martínez Mehner - Violin. *Abel Tomàs - Violin. *Jonathan Brown - Viola. *Arnau Tomàs - Cello. Unusually, the role of first and second violin can change from piece to piece during a concert. Cuarteto Casals has appeared at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

Musikverein Vienna The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

, Philharmonie Cologne,

Cité de la Musique The Cité de la Musique ("City of Music"), also known as Philharmonie 2, is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed with the nearby Conservatoire d ...

in Paris, the

Schubertiade A Schubertiade (also spelled Schubertiad) is an event held to celebrate the music of Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Modern Schubertiades also include concert series and festivals, such as the Schubertiade Vorarlberg. History During Schubert's lifet ...

in Schwarzenberg,

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

Amsterdam and the Philharmonie in Berlin. Reviewing their two 2012 Wigmore Hall recitals of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's early string quartets, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' stated: "one couldn’t have wished for better advocates than the Cuarteto Casals, whose warm, full-toned playing was immaculate and poetic throughout." The quartet has premiered works by

Jordi Cervelló Jordi Cervelló i Garriga (18 October 1935 – 2 September 2022) was a Catalan composer. Cervelló was born in Barcelona on 18 October 1935. He studied violin with Joan Massià and composition with Josep M. Roma. Later he went to Rome, Milan, Si ...

David del Puerto David del Puerto is a Spanish composer. Biography Born in 1964 in Madrid, musically trained in the guitar, disciple of Francisco Guerrero and Luis de Pablo in his native city, David del Puerto emerged very early as one of the most talented compose ...

and Jesús Rueda of Spain, collaborating with

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

of Scotland, and

György Kurtág György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian classical composer and pianist. He was an academic teacher of piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1967, later also of chamber music, and taught until 1993. Biography György ...

of Hungary, and at the composer's request, has recorded

Christian Lauba Christian Lauba (born 26 July 1952) is a Tunisian born French composer and teacher, especially noted for his compositions for saxophone.Umble, James; Gingras, Michèle; Corbé, Hervé; Street, William Henry; Londeix, Jean-Mari''Jean-Marie Londeix ...

's quartet, Morphing. The quartet has accompanied the King of Spain on diplomatic visits and performed on the peerless collection of decorated

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

instruments in the Royal Palace in Madrid. Cuarteto Casals is currently in residence at the Barcelona conservatory. The group is named for the well-known 20th-century cellist

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

Discography

The quartet has made recordings for

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

, with repertoire ranging from lesser known Spanish composers Arriaga and Toldrá to Viennese classics

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, through 20th Century greats Bartók, Kurtág and Ligeti. Reviewing their disc of

's String Quartets D87 & D887, the critic

Fiona Maddocks Fiona Maddocks is a British music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "one of the UK's leading writers and commentators on classical music", Maddocks has been chief music critic of ''The Observer'' since 2010. She ...

writing in

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

, said "the excellent Spanish ensemble bring supple radiance and flair to two works which span Schubert's brief career". Video recordings of Cuarteto Casals' broadcast performances in Spain and Germany are available o
YouTube

References

Official website of the Cuarteto Casals
{{Authority control Spanish musical groups String quartets