The Guastalla Quartet is a chamber music group dedicated to the exploration of the string quartet repertoire, from its roots to as-of-yet unwritten works.

 

Formed in 2013, The Guastalla Quartet brings together musicians from the finest conservatoires in Europe. Boasting an impressive wealth of experience, between them they have: performed at world-famous venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Teatro Teresa Carreño (Caracas), Katara Opera House and the National Concert Hall of Taiwan; recorded at major studios including Abbey Road Studios, Konk Studios, Air Edel and Paul Epworth’s studio; been mentored by internationally renowned artists such as the Chilingirian Quartet, Heime Müller, Ivry Gitlis, the Coull Quartet and Alina Ibragimova.

 

After a sell-out début concert with Steve Reich’s Different Trains at the acclaimed series From The Soundhouse, they returned to the concert platform to give one of the first performances of Jonathan Harvey’s String Quartet No. 4, with electronics maestro Michael Oliva.

 

2014 proved fruitful with studio recordings of Beethoven, Shostakovich, Milhaud and Dvořák, a mini-tour of Switzerland and Germany funded by supporters of the group, a return to the From The Soundhouse series with Saariaho’s Nymphea, and a residency at Norwich Chamber Music Festival.

 

In 2015, the quartet was invited to collaborate with dancers Verena Schneider and Gordon Raeburn on a new and immersive project called Spun Through Shadows. Conceptualized and created by composer Cameron Michael Graham, choreographer Thea Stanton and sound/lighting designer Oliver Doyle, performances took place over the year culminating in a double-bill at The Royal Academy of Arts.

 

Over the past few years, the quartet have been collaborating with the Kate Williams Trio under the name 'Four Plus Three'. The group's eponymous début album was launched in June 2016 at the 606 Club in Chelsea, with a subsequent tour across the UK. Four Plus Three have been joined by a number of guests including Gareth Lockrane, Mike Outram, John Williams and, most recently, Georgia Mancio, with whom they released their second album, Finding Home, which was also accompanied by a UK tour and won 'Best Album' at the 2020 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

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John Garner, Marie Schreer, Francis Gallagher, Sergio Serra

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Previous members:

Julian Fish

Miguel Rodrigo Martinez 

Samuel Justitz

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