Quartetto di Cremona, one of the most renowned Italian string quartets, will perform in Toronto for the very first time. Their inaugural Toronto concert will feature an exclusively Italian program dedicated to Boccherini, Verdi, Puccini and Respighi.
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 Far East, they garner universal acclaim for their high level of interpretive artistry.
“BBT Fellowship” prize winners in 2005, the Quartetto di Cremona received by the Borletti Buitoni Trust also the “Franco Buitoni Award” (2019 edition) for its constant contribution to the promotion of chamber music in Italy and around the world.
Noteworthy recent recording projects include the double CD dedicated to Schubert, released in Spring 2019 and featuring cellist Eckart Runge. The Schubert CD was recorded with the Stradivarius set of instruments named “Paganini Quartet”, on kind loan from the Nippon Music Foundation (Tokyo). The album attracted high levels of acclaim in the international press, which unanimously considers the Quartetto di Cremona as the true heir of the Quartetto Italiano. Same goes for Beethoven’s string quartets cycle, completed in 2018 for Audite: the eight volumes won prestigious awards (including Echo Klassik 2017 and ICMA 2018) and received numerous recognitions from specialized critics.
The 2018/19 successful season included concerts in Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Valencia, Milan, Rome, as well as New York, Cartagena de Indias, Hong Kong, Colmar and at the Schubertiade. 2019/2020 season’s highlights include a long tour in North America, performances in Holland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Albania, Taiwan and Finland as well as several concerts at the major Italian musical institutions.
In 2020 the Quartetto di Cremona will celebrate its first twenty years of career, an important milestone for an Italian ensemble. For the occasion, distinguished concerts and record projects will be developed over two consecutive seasons (2019/2020 and 2020/2021): several performances of the complete Beethoven quartets’ cycle, further CDs’ release, a tour with Bach’s “Art of the Fugue”, new music expressly composed for the Quartet.
Frequently invited to present master classes in Europe, North and South America and Asia, since 2011 they are Professors at the “Walter Stauffer Academy” in Cremona. They are ambassador for the international project “Friends of Stradivari” and honorary citizens of Cremona.
The ensemble is kindly supported by Kulturfonds Peter Eckes (Mainz) with four fabulous Italian instruments:
Cristiano Gualco: violin G.B. Guadagnini “Cremonensis”, Torino 1767
Paolo Andreoli: violin Paolo Antonio Testore, Milano ca. 1758
Simone Gramaglia: viola Gioachino Torazzi, ca. 1680
Giovanni Scaglione: cello Dom Nicola Amati, Bologna 1712
PROGRAMME:
Boccherini – String Quartet in C Major, Op. 2, No. 6
Verdi – Quartet in E Minor
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Puccini – I Crisantemi
Respighi – Quartet in D Major