Bretón String Quartet
The Breton String Quartet was formed in 2003 when four musicians with extensive experience in various chamber music ensembles and sharing a passion for string quartets and Spanish composers, decided to go beyond the repertoire that is most routinely programmed, to delve into this Spanish repertoire from the past to present day.
Since then, the Breton String Quartet has been invited to the principal halls, Festivals and chamber music series in Spain. They have put a strong emphasis on composers such as Ernesto and Rodolfo Halffter, Jesús Guridi, Julián Bautista, Jesús García Leóz, Tomás Bretón, Julián Orbón, Joaquín Turina or Julio Gómez, as well as on modern composers such as Agustín Charles, Alfredo Aracil, Tomás Marco, José Luis Greco, Mario Carro or Cristobal Halffter, and, of course, are as well dedicated to the standard repertoire, from Mozart and Haydn, to Debussy, Shostakovich or Szymanowsky, including Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Borodin, Lalo, etc. The composers Mario Carro, Juanjo Colomer, Alfredo Aracil, José Luis Greco, Víctor Padilla and Gabriel Loidi have dedicated works to the BSQ.
Recent highlights have been the absolute premiere of Juanjo Colomer’s two String Quartets in Bremen (Germany), the absolute premiere of Conrado del Campo’s 8th String Quartet in the new critical edition by the Breton String Quartet itself, as well as concerts in the most important Festivals and Halls in Spain: Festival de Granada, Quincena Musical Donostiarra, Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, Ciclo de Música Contemporánea de Córdoba, Fundación Juan March, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Sala 400 (Reina Sofia Mueum), etc.
The BSQ have recorded Rodolfo Halffter’s Complete String Quartets (NAXOS, Vol. III of Rodolfo Halffter’s Complete Chamber Music) and Alfredo Aracil’s Complete String Quartets (VERSO). During 2013, there will be many new releases such as the double CD of Father Antonio Soler’s Complete Piano String Quintets, with pianist Rosa Torres Pardo (COLUMNA), Jesús Guridi’s Complete String Quartets (NAXOS), followed by a double CD of Tomás Bretón’s Complete String Quartets (NAXOS). As part of the BSQ’s ambitious project of the recuperation of Spanish repertoire, they are currently working on the critical edition and recording of the Complete String Quartets (14) of Conrado del Campo: the most important collection of string quartets in the History of Spanish music.
