Biography

Mexico's Cuarteto Latinoamericano is among the most prominent string quartets in the Western Hemisphere and is preeminent among those specializing in contemporary Latin American chamber music. The group also plays mainstream string quartet repertory and has held longstanding ensemble-in-residence posts in Mexico and the U.S. The Cuarteto Latinoamericano was founded in Mexico City in 1982. The group maintains its original membership of three brothers, Saúl Bitrán (first violin), Arón Bitrán (second violin), and Alvaro Bitrán (cello), plus violist Javier Montiel. The group began its studies with quartets from the usual European repertory but soon discovered quartets from Latin America and began to specialize in that field. A key breakthrough for the ensemble came when it landed the post of quartet-in-residence at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1988. That brought the Cuarteto Latinoamericano numerous touring opportunities in the U.S., Mexico, South America, and beyond, as far afield as New Zealand. The quartet appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony, among other prominent orchestras, and collaborated with such artists as cellist Janos Starker, guitarists Sharon Isbin and Narciso Yepes, and pianists Cyprien Katsaris and Rudolf Buchbinder. Soon after its arrival in the U.S., the Cuarteto Latinoamericano began its recording career on the Elan label with an album of quartets by Alberto Ginastera, Silvestre Revueltas, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. In the 1990s and 2000s decades, the group recorded mostly for Elan, New Albion, and Dorian. For the latter imprint, the quartet recorded a complete cycle of the quartets of Villa-Lobos; the final volume of that set was nominated for two Grammy awards in 2002. The Cuarteto Latinoamericano returned to Mexico in 2008 to take up the post of quartet-in-residence at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. It has continued to tour widely, including trips to Israel, China, and Japan. The group's repertory has increasingly come to include new works, of which it has commissioned more than 100. One of these, Inca Dances, by composer Gabriela Lena Frank, won a Latin Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Latin American Composition. The group has also recorded albums of broad popular appeal, such as 2008's Tango Sensations. In the 2000s and 2010s, the quartet continued to record for Dorian and for Sono Luminus after that label purchased Dorian's catalog and renamed its imprint. In 2022, it issued a recording of the String Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 by composer Ruperto Chapí. By that time, its catalog comprised more than 40 items. ~ James Manheim, Rovi