Cuarteto Casals

String Quartet

Vera Martínez Mehner
Violin
Abel Tomàs Realp
Violin
Cristina Cordero
Viola
Arnau Tomàs Realp
Cello
"A pianist's right hand never has to argue with her left, whereas in a quartet, the integrity of each voice places a unique burden on the others. From the horizontal perspective we are four distinct and highly opinionated voices, from the vertical we are a whole, four interlocking and interdependent voices working in concert."
– Cuarteto Casals, 2018
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Contacts

Biography

Cuarteto Casals, a leading force in international chamber music, has established itself as one of the foremost string quartets after nearly three decades of its journey.
Founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofía in Madrid, Cuarteto Casals has become a regular guest at many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berlin Philharmonie, Cité de la Musique and Philharmonie de Paris, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Their profound devotion to the heart of every work is reflected in a discography of around twenty albums for the Harmonia Mundi label, spanning works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, the complete Beethoven quartets, as well as 20th-century masters such as Debussy, Ravel, Bartók, and Ligeti.

A prize from the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London enabled the group to assemble a unique collection of matching Baroque and Classical bows, used in repertoire from Bach to Beethoven, a reflection of their deep commitment to stylistic diversity. Their historically informed performances bring nuance across eras, while their artistry has also been profoundly shaped by long standing engagement with living composers. They have maintained a close relationship with György Kurtág and premiered quartets by leading Spanish composers, including a concerto for string quartet and orchestra by Francisco Coll with the Orquesta Nacional de España, alongside commissions from Mauricio Sotelo, Benet Casablancas, Dahoud Salim, Lucio Amanti, Elisenda Fábregas, Aureliano Cattaneo, and Matan Porat.
„Is there a typical Cuarteto Casals sound? Definitely. It is characterized by an extremely delicate and thorough illumination of the score, and a multi-layered sound that always has something fluorescent, glass-like about it.”Badische Zeitung, September 2022
In the 2025/2026 season, they embark on a landmark project: performing the complete Shostakovich string quartets, presented both in recordings and in full live cycles worldwide. The season also features tours across North America as well as extensive performances across Europe, with concerts at renowned venues such as Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Gulbenkian in Lisboa, Wigmore Hall in London, Konserthus in Stockholm, String Quartet Biennial Amsterdam in Amsterdam and Musikverein in Vienna.

In parallel with their concert activity, the quartet is deeply engaged in pedagogy, holding residencies at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag. They have been honored with Spain’s National Music Award, Catalonia’s National Culture Award, and the City of Barcelona Prize. They have also had the rare honor of performing on the legendary Stradivarius instruments at the Royal Palace in Madrid, and in recognition of their artistic excellence and enduring legacy, they were awarded the Medal of Honor by Reina Sofía of Spain. Furthermore, they proudly serve as cultural ambassadors for the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Institut Ramon Llull.

2025/2026
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.
Contacts: Lenemarie Leukefeld, Clara Loeb

Images

Programme

2026 / 2027

You’ll find the current programs in the IMPRESARIUM of the 26/27 season

2025 / 2026

Schedule

22/11/2025
17:00 h
Sant Serni de Canillo
Canillo, Andorra
Cuarteto Casals
26/11/2025
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
07/12/2025
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
14/12/2025
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
08/01/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
12/01/2026
13:00 h
Wigmore Hall
London, United Kingdom
Cuarteto Casals
14/01/2026
20:00 h
Cuarteto Casals
15/01/2026
19:00 h
Hagen-Haus
Nendeln, Liechtenstein
Cuarteto Casals
21/01/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
22/01/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
24/01/2026
22:45 h
Het Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ'
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cuarteto Casals
25/01/2026
11:00 h
Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cuarteto Casals
26/01/2026
20:15 h
Het Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ'
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cuarteto Casals
01/02/2026
15:00 h
Vancouver Playhouse
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Cuarteto Casals
02/02/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
03/02/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
08/02/2026
15:00 h
New Mexico Museum of Art, St. Francis Auditorium
Santa Fe, NM 87501, United States
Cuarteto Casals
10/02/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
12/02/2026
19:00 h
Trinity Presbyterian Church- Trinity Hall
Montgomery,, AL, United States
Cuarteto Casals
14/02/2026
19:30 h
Duke University, Baldwin Auditorium
Durham, NC, United States
Cuarteto Casals
15/02/2026
16:00 h
The Phillips Collection, Music room
Washington, United States
Cuarteto Casals
26/02/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
27/02/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
06/03/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
11/03/2026
19:00 h
Cuarteto Casals
14/03/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
25/03/2026
19:00 h
Cuarteto Casals
09/04/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
15/04/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
16/04/2026
19:30 h
Cuarteto Casals
18/04/2026
16:00 h
Cuarteto Casals

Discography

The Art of Fugue
Johann Sebastian Bach
Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080

Contrapunctus I, a 4
Contrapunctus II, a 4
Contrapunctus III, a 4
Contrapunctus IV, a 4
Contrapunctus V, a 4
Contrapunctus VI, a 4 in stilo francese
Contrapunctus VII, a 4 per augmentationem et diminutionem
Contrapunctus VIII, a 3
Contrapunctus IX, a 4 alla duodecima
Contrapunctus X, a 4 alla decima
Contrapunctus XI, a 4
Contrapunctus XII, a 4
Contrapunctus XIII, a 3
Canon per augmentationem in contrario motu
Canon alla ottava
Canon alla decima in contrapunto alla terza
Canon alla duodecima in contrapunto alla quinta
Contrapunctus XIV, a 4 Fuga a tre soggetti
Chorale Vor deinen Thron tret' ich BWV 668 (extr. 18 Chorale Preludes, BWV 651-668)

Quartets Dedicated to Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet no.15, KV 421
String Quartet no.17, KV 458 "The Hunt"
String Quartet no.18, KV 464

Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet 'Dissonance', KV 465

Apotheosis
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 5, Op. 18 No. 5
String Quartet No. 6, Op. 18 No. 6

String Quartet No. 11, 'Serioso', Op. 95
String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131

String Quartet No. 13, Op. 130 with 'Grosse Fugue' Op. 133

Revelations
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 18 No. 2
String Quartet No. 10, Op. 74

String Quartet No. 8, Op. 59 No. 2
String Quartet No. 9, Op. 59 No. 3

String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132

Inventions
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 18 No. 1
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 18 No. 3
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 18 No. 4

String Quartet No. 9, Op. 14
String Quartet No. 7, Op. 59 No. 1

String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127
String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135

Schubert: Complete String Quartets #2 - Live in Barcelona
Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 4, D 46
String Quartet No. 1, D 18
String Quartet No. 9, D 173

Schubert: Complete String Quartets #1 - Live in Barcelona
Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 7, D 94
String Quartet No. 5, D 68
String Quartet No. 14, D 810 "Death and the Maiden"

Mozart: String Quartets dedicated to Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet No. 14, K.387
String Quartet No. 16, K.428/421b
String Quartet No. 19, K.465

Haydn: The Seven Last Words
Joseph Haydn
The Seven Last Words of Christ, Hob.XX:2

20th Century String Quartets
Claude Debussy
String Quartet, Op. 10

Alexander von Zemlinsky
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15

Maurice Ravel
String Quartet, Op. 35

Eduard Toldrà
Vistes al mar

Joaquín Turina
Oración del torero

Schubert
Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 10, Op. 125/1 D.87
String Quartet No. 15, Op. 161 D.887

Boccherini: La musica notturna di Madrid
Luigi Boccherini
String Quintet G. 324, Op. 30 No. 6
String Quintet No. 6, G.275, Op. 11 No. 5
String Quartet G. 205, Op. 32 No. 5
Guitar Quintet No. 6, G. 448

Eckart Runge - Cello
Carles Trepat - Guitar

Metamorphosis
Béla Bartók
String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91

György Ligeti
String Quartet No. 1, "Métamorphoses nocturnes"

György Kurtág
12 Microludes for String Quartet, Op. 13

Haydn
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets, Op. 33

Brahms: Complete String Quartets and Piano Quintet
Johannes Brahms
String Quartet, Op. 51 No. 1
String Quartet, Op. 51 No. 2
String Quartet, Op. 67 No. 3
Piano Quintet, Op. 34

Claudio Martínez Mehner - Piano

Influencias
Maurice Ravel
String Quartet, Op. 35

Eduard Toldrà
Vistes al mar

Joaquín Turina
Oración del torero

Mozart: The Early Quartets
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet No. 1, K. 80
Divertimento K. 136
Divertimento K. 137
Divertimento K. 138
String Quartet No. 2, K. 155

String Quartet No. 3, K. 156
String Quartet No. 4, K. 157
String Quartet No. 5, K. 158
String Quartet No. 6, K. 159
String Quartet No. 7, K. 160
String Quartet No. 8, K. 168

String Quartet No. 9, K. 169
String Quartet No. 10, K. 170
String Quartet No. 11, K. 171
String Quartet No. 12, K. 172
String Quartet No. 13, K. 173

Debussy & Zemlinsky
Claude Debussy
String Quartet, Op. 10

Alexander von Zemlinsky
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15

Videos

25 years Cuarteto Casals!
Beethoven Complete String Quartets, vol. 1
Cuarteto Casals 20th Anniversary
Schubert Complete String Quartets # 2
Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ
Beethoven in Colombia 2020

Contact

Lenemarie Leukefeld
Senior Artist Manager
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 721
Clara Loeb
Artist Coordinator
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 712