Cologne Guitar Quartet

Das sagt der/die Künstler:in:

The Cologne Guitar Quartet is an international ensemble based in Germany. Its members have four different nationalities: Tobias Juchem-Germany, Henrique Almeida-Portugal, Ptolemaios Armaos-Greece and Tal Botvinik-Israel.

Since its founding in 2014, the Cologne Guitar Quartet has evolved in various musical directions that reflect its artistic interests and goals. Their programs are shaped by influences from the local music scene as well as the home countries, traditions and cultural backgrounds of the ensemble members. The repertoire ranges from classical and world music to contemporary, experimental and electronic music. The ensemble have premiered new compositions by prominent composers such as Feliu Gasull, Sergej Maingardt, Yair Klartag, Jonah Haven, Dariya Maminova, Ptolemaios Armaos, Henrique Almeida, etc.

Recognized for their captivating and virtuosic performances, the quartet has been invited to perform in various festivals such as "speGTRa", (DE) "Zeitgenuss" (DE), "Les Musicales" (FR), "CEME" (ISR) "Felicja Blumental" (ISR), “Algarve music series” (PT) and “AchtBrücken” (DE). They have toured in various countries such as China, Germany, France, Israel, Portugal, Greece, Serbia etc.

The quartet released two albums: "phasma", with contemporary music for classical guitar, and "Routes", ranging from classical to world music.

The Cologne Guitar Quartet was awarded in various competitions, such as "Karlsruhe Competition for the Interpretation of Contemporary Music", "Wuppertal Chamber Music competition", "Brigitte Kempen" competition and acquired various scholarships and grants such as the "Live Music Now" scholarship from the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. The quartet is supported by the Ministry of Culture and science of the state of Nord Rhine-Westphalia.

In 2022 the quartet founded a new international crossover chamber music festival in Cologne: the SoundLinks Festival. 

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