Cuarteto Latinoamericano

Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Cuarteto Latinoamericano (From left to right) Arón Bitrán, Saúl Bitrán, Alvaro Bitrán, and Javier Montiel
Background information
Origin	Mexico City, Mexico
Genres	Latin American
Years active	1981–present
Members	Saúl Bitrán – violin I, Arón Bitrán – violin II, Javier Montiel – viola, Alvaro Bitrán – cello

Cuarteto Latinoamericano is a string quartet. Founded in Mexico in 1981, the Cuarteto has toured throughout Europe, the Americas, Israel, China, Japan, and New Zealand. They have premiered over one hundred works written for them. Winners of two Latin Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album, they have also been awarded the Diapason d'Or, the Mexican Music Critics Association Award, and three "Most Adventurous Programming" Awards from Chamber Music America.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano's members are three Bitrán brothers: violinists Saul and Aron and cellist Alvaro, with violist Javier Montiel. They have recorded more than 100 CDs. Volume 6 of their Villa-Lobos cycle of 17 string quartets on Dorian was nominated for a Grammy Award and a Latin Grammy for Best Chamber Music Recording. Their albums Brasileiro: Works of Mignone (2012) and El Hilo Invisible (2016) won Latin Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album. The work Inca Dances by Gabriela Lena Frank, recorded by Cuarteto Latinoamericano with Manuel Barrueco, won the 2009 Latin Grammy for Best New Latin Composition.

History

Formed in Mexico in 1981, Cuarteto Latinoamericano was, from 1987 until 2008, quartet-in-residence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. They have collaborated with many artists, including cellist János Starker, pianist Santiago Rodriguez, tenor Ramón Vargas, and guitarists Sharon Isbin and Manuel Barrueco. With Barrueco, they have played in venues in the US and Europe, recorded two CDs, and commissioned guitar quintets from American composers Michael Daugherty and Gabriela Lena Frank.

Under the auspices of the Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles of Venezuela, the Cuarteto created the Latin American Academy for String Quartets, based in Caracas, which was active between 2008 and 2014. The academy served as a training ground for five select string quartets from the Sistema. The Cuarteto Latinoamericano is represented in the United States by Tom Gallant at General Arts Touring. Between 2004 and 2021, they were recipients of the México en Escena grants given by the Mexican government through FONCA (National Fund for Culture and the Arts).

Recordings

Cuarteto Latinoamericano has recorded over 100 CDs, which include the complete works for quartet by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Silvestre Revueltas, Alberto Ginastera, Rodolfo Halffter, Carlos Chávez, Manuel M. Ponce, Mario Lavista, Francisco Mignone, Julián Orbón, Ruperto Chapí, and other composers.

Their sixth and final album of Heitor Villa-Lobos's string quartets, Quartets Nos. 4, 9, and 11, was nominated for two Grammy Awards (Best Chamber Music and Best Latin Music) in 2002. For Élan Recordings, they have recorded Ginastera: The Three String Quartets and Latin American String Quartets, which includes the world premiere recordings of Orbón's String Quartet and Lavista's Reflejos de la Noche.

As of 2011, the Cuarteto Latinoamericano is under a recording agreement with Sono Luminus, for whom they have released five albums:

• Encores (2010),
• Mexican Romantic Quartets (2011),
• Brasileiro: Works of Mignone (2012),

Which won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album, Ruperto Chapí: String Quartets Vol. 1 (2014), and Ruperto Chapí: String Quartets Vol. 2 (2021). Volume 1 was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2015. Their 2015 album El Hilo Invisible, with Mexican singer Jaramar, won the 2016 Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album.

Members

• Saúl Bitrán – violin I
• Arón Bitrán – violin II
• Javier Montiel – viola
• Alvaro Bitrán – cello

External links

• Official website
• Concert calendar
• Cuarteto Latinoamericano on Dorian Sono Luminus Records