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 violinist ...

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, whic ...

in Barcelona, where all four members reside and teach at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya.

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 Pre ...

, Madrid, in 1997 under Professor Antonello Farulli. They have studied with Walter Levin and Rainer Schmidt in Barcelona, as well as undertaking graduate work in Cologne under the Alban Berg Quartet 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 (National Music Award). A prize from the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust 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 leadi ...

, Carnegie Hall, Musikverein Vienna, 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 de ...

in Paris, the Schubertiade 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 ...

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 publishe ...

'' 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, David del Puerto 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'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 ...

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 ''h ...

, 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. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

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 le ...

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 wit ...

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

's String Quartets D87 & D887, the critic Fiona Maddocks writing in

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

, 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