Cuarteto Latinoamericano

Standing out among the foremost string quartets across the Western Hemisphere, Mexico’s Cuarteto Latinoamericano ranks highest among ensembles devoted to contemporary Latin American chamber music while also maintaining a broad command of the standard string quartet literature. Long-term residencies have linked the ensemble to institutions in both Mexico and the United States.

Formed in Mexico City in 1982, the quartet has retained its founding personnel throughout its existence: brothers Saúl Bitrán on first violin, Arón Bitrán on second violin, and Alvaro Bitrán on cello, joined by violist Javier Montiel. Initial training centered on European quartet works, yet the musicians soon turned their attention to Latin American scores and made that repertoire their specialty. A decisive step occurred in 1988 when Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, appointed the group quartet-in-residence, an affiliation that opened extensive touring routes throughout the United States, Mexico, South America, and distant regions such as New Zealand. Appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony formed part of a wider schedule of orchestral engagements, while collaborations involved cellist Janos Starker, guitarists Sharon Isbin and Narciso Yepes, and pianists Cyprien Katsaris and Rudolf Buchbinder.

Shortly after establishing a presence in the United States, the ensemble launched its recording career on the Elan label with an album featuring quartets by Alberto Ginastera, Silvestre Revueltas, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. During the 1990s and 2000s, most sessions took place for Elan, New Albion, and Dorian; the Dorian series culminated in a complete survey of Villa-Lobos quartets whose final installment received two Grammy nominations in 2002. In 2008 the musicians returned to Mexico to assume the quartet-in-residence position at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. International travel has since encompassed Israel, China, and Japan. The group’s programming has grown increasingly oriented toward new compositions, more than 100 of which it has commissioned. Among these, Gabriela Lena Frank’s Inca Dances earned the Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin American Composition in 2009. Projects aimed at wider audiences include the 2008 release Tango Sensations. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, the quartet continued to record for Dorian and, after Sono Luminus acquired the Dorian catalog and rebranded the imprint, for the successor label. Its 2022 album presented the String Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 of Ruperto Chapí, bringing the ensemble’s total recorded output past forty titles.