Quartetto di Cremona at The Shoe Factory on November 24

Considered one of the finest string quartets of its generation, and having established a reputation as one of the most exciting chamber ensembles on the international stage, Quartetto di Cremona is regularly invited to perform in major music festivals all over the world, and garners universal acclaim for its high level of interpretive artistry. The Quartet, established in 2000, has performed in festivals such as the Beethovenfest in Bonn, the Bozar Festival in Brussels, and Kammermusik Gemeinde in Hannover, in prestigious venues  such as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, and Beethovenhaus in Bonn, and boasts an impressive discography with prestigious awards including the Echo Klassik and an International Classical Music Award. For its Cyprus debut, Quaretto di Cremona will perform string quartets by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Verdi.

QUARTETTO DI CREMONA

Since its formation in 2000, the Quartetto di Cremona has established a reputation as one of the most exciting chamber ensembles on the international stage. Regularly invited to perform in major music festivals in Europe, North and South America, and the Far East, they garner universal acclaim for their high level of interpretive artistry.

A Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship prize winner in 2005, the ensemble also received the Franco Buitoni Award (2019) for its constant contribution to the promotion of chamber music in Italy and around the world. In 2021, Quartetto di Cremona was designated a Si-Yo Master Artist™️ Ensemble.

The Quartet has performed at major international festivals such as Beethovenfest in Bonn, Bozar Festival in Brussels, Festival of Turku, Kammermusik Gemeinde in Hannover, Perth Festival in Australia, and in the most prestigious concert halls all over the world such as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, Bargemusic in New York, and Beethovenhaus in Bonn.

Despite the pandemic emergency in the 2020-21 season, Quartetto di Cremona has made prestigious debuts such as at the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, Fundación Juan March in Madrid, for the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center in New York and the Kuhmo International Festival in Finland

The Quartet has also received great critical acclaim for their unique albums. Released in 2020, Italian Postcards (Avie Records) assembles evocations of the Mediterranean country by four non-natives composers, such as Mozart, Wolf, Tchaikovsky, and Nimrod Borenstein who wrote a brand-new piece for the Quartet’s 20th anniversary. In 2019, a double CD dedicated to Schubert was released with the participation of cellist Eckart Runge (Audite). The album was recorded with the Stradivarius set of instruments named “Paganini Quartet”, on kind loan from the Nippon Music Foundation (Tokyo). In 2018, the Quartet released Beethoven’s complete quartet cycle in eight albums, which won prestigious awards including the Echo Klassik and an International Classical Music Award. In June 2022, the Quartetto di Cremona recorded its own version of The Art of Fugue, performed with seven instruments so as not to alter the original writing of Bach’s score.

The members of the Quartet have been Professors at the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona since 201, and they are frequently invited to present masterclasses in Europe, Asia, North and South America. They are ambassadors for the international project “Friends of Stradivari” and honorary citizens of Cremona, UNESCO Cultural Heritage for violin making. They also endorse the “Le Dimore del Quartetto” project and Thomastik Infield Strings.

Quartetto di Cremona: Cristiano Gualco (violin), Paolo Andreoli (violin), Simone Gramaglia (viola), Giovanni Scaglione (cello)

PROGRAMME

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
String Quartet No.1 in B minor, Op.50

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
String Quartet in E minor 

Interval

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet No.15 in A minor Op.132