The Minguet Quartet, founded in 1988, is among the most internationally renowned string quartets and performs in major concert halls around the world. The ensemble takes its name from the 18th-century Spanish philosopher Pablo Minguet, who advocated for public access to the arts – a philosophy the quartet continues to embody through its performances.
The ensemble has appeared in prestigious venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Bozar in Brussels, the Southbank Centre in London, Lincoln Center in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, and the University of Hong Kong. It has been invited to festivals including the Beethovenfest Bonn, Brucknerfest Linz, Grafenegg Festival, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Rheingau Musik Festival, Mozartfest Würzburg, Salzburg Festival, Schwetzingen Festival, DIALOGE Music Festival, and the Tongyeong International Music Festival.
The quartet is dedicated to both classical-romantic repertoire and contemporary works. Encounters with modern composers and the premieres of new pieces inspire the musicians to create innovative and thought-provoking concert programs. Among their most significant projects are the complete recordings of the string quartets by Wolfgang Rihm, Peter Ruzicka, and Jörg Widmann, as well as comprehensive collections of quartets by Felix Mendelssohn, Josef Suk, and Heinrich von Herzogenberg. In 2022, the quartet released the complete chamber music of Walter Braunfels, followed in 2023 by recordings of string quartets by Glenn Gould and Heinrich Kaminski.
Experience the quartet’s fascinating program “Spurensuche” (Tracing Paths) at our festival’s opening concert. This captivating performance places Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue in dialogue with works by both contemporary and classical composers, including György Kurtág, Dmitri Shostakovich, Erwin Schulhoff, Arnold Schoenberg, Gustav Mahler, Pēteris Vasks, and Arvo Pärt. Join us and discover the profound connections between the past and present of music!
Program Searching for traces:
J. S. Bach
The Art of Fugue Contrapunctus 1
Erwin Schulhoff
Cavatine op. 14 (1914)
J. S. Bach
The Art of Fugue Contrapunctus 3
György Kurtág
Officium breve in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky for String quartet op. 28 (1988/89)
J. S. Bach
The Art of Fugue Contrapunctus 6
Arnold Schönberg
Scherzo for String quartet (F-Major) (1897)
Gustav Mahler
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (1901) arranged by A. Reisinger
J. S. Bach
The Art of Fugue Contrapunctus 4
Dmitri Schostakowitsch
15. String quartet (1974): 5. Satz Funeral March
Pēteris Vasks
4. String quartet (1999): 2. Satz
J. S. Bach
The Art of Fugue Contrapunctus 9
Arvo Pärt
Fratres (1977/1989)
