Cuarteto Casals - Biography

Cuarteto Casals was supported by BBT between 2008 and 2011, when this page was last updated.  For an up to date biography go to www.impresariat-simmenauer.de

Vera Martínez Mehner violin
Abel Tomàs violin
Cristina Cordero viola
Arnau Tomàs cello

Cuarteto Casals was founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofia in Madrid under Professor Antonello Farulli and has quickly become recognized as one of Europe’s most distinguished string quartets. This Spanish ensemble has garnered extensive critical acclaim and has won top prizes at many international competitions, including First Prizes at the 2000 London and the 2002 Johannes Brahms International String Quartet Competitions. In 2005, the ensemble was honoured with the prize of the City of Barcelona, in 2006 received the National Music Award – the highest distinction for musicians in Spain, and in 2008 was chosen for the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust scholarship in England. Upcoming and recent activities include performances and tours in the most important venues of Europe, the United States, South America, Russia and Japan. Cuarteto Casals records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi, which recently released its sixth album, featuring the complete string quartets Opus 33 of Joseph Haydn. The quartet has worked with important composers in Europe today, premiering works by Spain’s Jordi Cervelló, David del Puerto and Jesús Rueda, collaborating with Scotland’s James MacMillan, Hungarian György Kurtág and, at the composer’s request, recording Christian Lauba’s quartet Morphing. Cuarteto Casals has performed quintets with renowned musicians including Elizabeth Leonskaja, Oleg Maisenberg, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Christophe Coin, Thomas Riebl, and Michael Collins. Cuarteto Casals is currently in residence at the leading conservatory in Barcelona, and has been profoundly influenced by intensive studies with Professors Walter Levin and Rainer Schmidt, as well as by graduate work in Cologne under the Alban Berg Quartet and Harald Schoneweg.

Founder violist Jonathan Brown left the Quartet in 2024. His place has been taken by Cristina Cordero.

Last updated: January 2011

We were so honoured to be granted a BBT award and it could not have come at a more ideal moment for us. For years we had just talked about various projects: classical bows appropriate for Mozart or Haydn, studying intensively with György Kurtág, or learning from a great artist like Mitsuko Uchida, but once we were offered the resources of the entire BBT organization, everything fell into place. The award has allowed us to develop musically in ways that would not have been possible without such support. Thank you BBT!

Photographs by David Ruano / Marc Campa / Felix Broede