Aitor Hevia, violin
Cibrán Sierra, violin
Josep Puchades, viola
Helena Poggio, cello
The Quiroga Quartet, recent winners of Spain’s National Music Prize and appointed first quartet in residence in charge of the Royal Stradivarius Collection at the Royal Palace in Madrid, have established themselves as one of the most dynamic and unique quartets of their generation, winning international prizes and acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for their personality and their bold, original approach to the string quartet repertoire.
The quartet pays tribute to the memory of Galician violinist Manuel Quiroga, one of the most remarkable instrumentalists in the history of Spanish music.
The group studied at the Escuela Reina Sofia in Madrid with Professor Rainer Schmidt, at the Musikhochschule in Basel with Walter Levin and at the ECMA with Professor Hatto Beyerle. Other important influences include Johannes Meissl, György Kurtág, András Keller, Eberhard Feltz and Ferenc Rados.
Winners of several major international competitions (Bordeaux, Paolo Borciani, Geneva, Beijing, Fnapec-Paris, Palau-Barcelona), the ensemble appears regularly around the world (Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin, Frick Collection and Lincoln Center New York), DaCamera Los Angeles, National Gallery Washington DC, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Invalides Paris, Martinu Hall Prague, Nybrokajen Stockholm, Auditorio Nacional-Madrid, Heidelberger Frühling, Stadtcasino Basel, Mozarteum Salzburg, String Quartet Biennial Amsterdam, etc.). ) and has been awarded the Spanish Radio’s National Culture Prize.
Frequent performing partners include Martha Argerich, Veronika Hagen, Valentin Erben, Javier Perianes, Jörg Widmann, Richard Lester, Alain Meunier, David Kadouch, Jonathan Brown, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Tomas Djupsjöbacka, Chen Halevy, Cappella Amsterdam, and the Doric, Meta4, Ardeo and Galatea string quartets.
Very committed to teaching chamber music, they are professors at the Conservatorio Superior CSM in Zaragoza (Aitor Hevia), the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg (Cibrán Sierra), the Musikene (Josep Puchades) and the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid (Helena Poggio). They are also regularly invited to give masterclasses at universities and music conservatories throughout Europe, the United States and Latin America.
Their five CD albums (COBRA & Harmonia Mundi) have been acclaimed by the international press and won several prizes and awards. ‘Statements’, with music by Haydn, Webern and Sollima won the “CD of the Year Award 2012”, awarded by the Union of Independent Producers (UFI). ‘(R) evolutions’, dedicated to the early music of Schönberg, Webern and Alban Berg, received, among other distinctions, the “Exceptional CD” label awarded by Scherzo, Spain’s leading music magazine. In 2016, they released two CD titles: ‘Frei Aber Einsam’, dedicated to Johannes Brahms’ Opus 51 quartets (Cobra) and a collaboration with pianist Javier Perianes featuring piano quintets by Granados and Turina (Harmonia Mundi). More recently, they have also released the album ‘TERRA’, devoted to works by Bartók, Ginastera & Halffter, and the CD ‘Heritage’, a panorama of the music of Madrid at the time of Goya. All their CD recordings have already been acclaimed by prestigious critics such as The Strad, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine (UK), Luister (NL), El País (Spain), Fanfare (USA) and have already received awards and distinctions from several magazines (Scherzo, Pizzicato, Ritmo, Melómano, ICMA, etc.) and broadcasting companies such as Norddeutscher Rundfunk, NDR.
The Quiroga Quartet has its official residence all year round at the Cerralbo Museum in Madrid. Mr Sierra would like to thank the heirs of Paola Modiano for the generous opportunity to play the Nicola Amati 1682 ‘Arnold Rosé’ violin.
