BRETON STRING QUARTET
In this 62 edition of the International Piano Competition “Prize Jaén” it will be the Philharmonic Orchestra of Malaga that will accompany us in the final performance.
Anne-Marie North
VIOLÍN I
Antonio CÁrdenas
VIOLÍN II
John Stokes
CELLO
Carlos Sánchez Muñoz – in temporary replacement of John Stokes
rocío gómez
VIOLA
The Breton String Quartet was formed in 2003 when four musicians with extensive experience in various chamber music ensembles and sharing a passion for string quartets and Spanish composers, decided to go beyond the repertoire that is most routinely programmed, to delve into this Spanish repertoire from the past to present day.
Since then, the Breton String Quartet has been invited to the principal halls, Festivals and chamber music series in Spain and abroad, as Festival de Granada, Festival de Santander, Quincena de San Sebastián, Festival international de quatuors à cordes du Luberon and Festival Cordes en Ballade, both in France, Xornadas de Música Contemporánea de Compostela, Festival de Úbeda, Alicante Actual, Real Academia de Bellas Artes, CNDM, Fundación BBVA de Bilbao, Ciclo de Música Contemporánea de Badajoz, Fundación March, Música/Musika de Bilbao, Ciclo de Música Contemporánea de Córdoba, Festival de Pascua de El Escorial, Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, Auditorio Nacional, Fundación BBVA de Madrid, Auditorio del Conde Duque, Festival de Música Española de León, Cervantes Institute in Bremen, Vienna, Bucarest, etc.
They have put a strong emphasis on composers such as Ernesto and Rodolfo Halffter, Jesús Guridi, Julián Bautista, Jesús García Leoz, Tomás Bretón, Julián Orbón, Joaquín Turina or Julio Gómez, as well as on modern composers such as Agustín Charles, Alfredo Aracil, Tomás Marco, José Luis Greco, Mario Carro or Cristóbal Halffter, and, of course, are as well dedicated to the standard repertoire, from Mozart and Haydn, to Debussy, Shostakovich or Gubaidulina, including Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Borodin, Lalo, etc. The composers Mario Carro, Juanjo Colomer, Alfredo Aracil, José Luis Greco, Víctor Padilla, Gabriel Loidi, Mario Diz or Hermes Luaces have dedicated works to the BSQ.
The BSQ have recorded Rodolfo Halffter’s Complete String Quartets (Naxos); Alfredo Aracil’s Complete String Quartets (Verso); the double CD of Father Antonio Soler’s Complete Piano String Quintets, with pianist Rosa Torres-Pardo (Columna Musica), Jesús Guridi’s Complete String Quartets (Naxos), or Chamber Music by Juanjo Colomer (Cervantes Institute of Bremen). Upcoming releases are the Complete Works for Voice and String Quartet by Antón García Abril and Tomás Bretón’s String Quartets.
Since 2017 is the String Quartet in Residence at Jaen International Piano Prize.
