It was with these words that François Kieffer, cellist with the Quatuor Modigliani and a member of the jury at the ARD International Music Competition, described the qualities of the Viatores Quartet, following the prestigious 2026 competition. Pierre Colombet, first violinist of the Quatuor Ébène and also a jury member, was equally impressed: "In the final of the ARD Competition, the Viatores Quartet gave us a magnificent concert, every second of which I was able to enjoy to the full."

This recognition from two outstanding figures of the international string quartet scene underscores the young ensemble’s musical expressiveness. In September 2026, the four musicians won first prize, the audience prize, the prize for best interpretation of the commissioned work, as well as special prizes from Genuin and Marillon Couture at the ARD Competition.

The name Viatores, Latin for ‘travellers’, refers to the four musicians’ diverse backgrounds – the UK, Germany, Portugal and Turkey – while also alluding to the daily life as a string quartet, defined by constant travel: both on stage and in their personal lives.

The quartet was founded in early 2023 at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. The four musicians are currently studying with Professor Oliver Wille at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, and since autumn 2026 with Heime Müller and Vera Martinez-Mehner (Cuarteto Casals) at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. From 2023 to 2025, the quartet also studied with Professor Tabea Zimmermann at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. They have received further artistic inspiration from renowned musicians such as Christian Tetzlaff, Nora Chastain, Mark Steinberg, Areta Zhula, Antje Weithaas and Johanna Staemmler. The Viatores Quartet is ensemble in residence at the chamber music organisation ProQuartet – Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre in Paris and is supported by Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz.

In addition to their outstanding victory in the ARD Competition, the quartet has previously won a number of other prizes and awards: first prize at the 2024 Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University Competition, and special prizes at both, the prestigious International String Quartet Competition at Wigmore Hall, London and the 2025 International String Quartet Competition in Banff (BISQC). In 2026, the quartet received the Hans Gál Ensemble Prize from the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz State Foundation. In 2024, the quartet was selected as an SWR New Talent, a three-year support programme comprising performances at various festivals as well as radio and TV productions.

In early 2025, the quartet recorded their first CD featuring works by Benjamin Britten, Fanny Hensel, Inti Figgis-Vizueta, Wenjing Guo and Fazıl Say which was supported by the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition and released on the Betont label.

Louisa Staples plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1744 "ex Schwalbe"
Johannes Brzoska plays a violin by Nicolas Lupot from 1806, on loan from the Alice and Hans-Joachim Thormählen Foundation.
Miguel Erlich plays a viola by Nikola Popara from 2020.
Umut Sağlam plays a cello by Georg Winterling from 1914.

2026/2027