Official biography
Praised for their “virtuosity, visceral expression, and rare unity of intention” (Boston Globe), the
Viano Quartet has quickly soared to international acclaim as one of the most dynamic and in-demand
string quartets of their generation. Winners of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2025,
the ensemble has captivated audiences worldwide ever since they were awarded First Prize at the
13th Banff International String Quartet Competition, with appearances at renowned venues such as
Lincoln Center in New York, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Toronto’s Koerner Hall, Hong Kong’s City Hall,
and London’s Wigmore Hall. The Viano Quartet are Bowers Program Artists at The Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center from 2024-2027.
Highlights of the Viano Quartet’s 2025–26 season include debut performances at London’s
Southbank Centre, the Frick Collection in New York, Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Coast Live
Music, Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City, Apex Concerts, the Amelia Island Chamber Music
Festival, the Fortas Series at the Kennedy Center, Premiere Performances HK, and a mainstage full
recital debut at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The quartet also makes return
appearances at Stanford Live, Forte Chamber Music, the Beaches Fine Arts Series, the Buffalo
Chamber Music Society’s Slee Series (for the second half of their Beethoven cycle), Chamber Music
Albuquerque, and the Sanibel Music Festival. The quartet looks forward to visiting residencies this
season at Stanford University through the St. Lawrence Legacy Series, the University of Victoria,
Music in the Morning in Vancouver, and the Auditorium Chamber Music Series at the University of
Idaho. This season also features exciting collaborations with mandolinist Avi Avital, pianist Sir
Stephen Hough, pianist Gilbert Kalish, clarinetist Anthony McGill, guitarist Miloš Karadaglić, and
singer-songwriter Vienna Teng.
Equally committed to both beloved masterworks and contemporary repertoire, the Viano Quartet
actively collaborates with today’s leading composers, including Sir Stephen Hough, Kevin Lau, Chris
Rogerson, and Caroline Shaw. They are set to premiere a newly written string quartet by Indian-
American composer Reena Esmail in the summer of 2026.
The quartet’s recent discography highlights the ensemble’s range across both traditional and modern
repertoire. Their first full-length album Voyager was newly released in summer 2025 with Apple
Music/Platoon Records. Inspired by humankind's enduring spirit of exploration that connects music
and people across vast boundaries, the album features Beethoven’s Op. 130 alongside Alistair
Coleman’s Moonshot. Their debut EP Portraits was released in 2023 as one of the first albums to be
launched on the Curtis Studio label, featuring works by Schubert, Florence Price, Tchaikovsky, and
Ginastera.
Passionate about sharing their love for chamber music with the next generation of musicians, the
quartet has worked with some of the most talented young artists at the world’s leading universities
and music institutions, including Northwestern University, Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute,
the Colburn Academy, and Duke University. They have also collaborated with many of the world’sfinest artists, including Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Fleur Barron, Mahan Esfahani, Marc-André
Hamelin, James Ehnes, Bridget Kibbey, Paul Neubauer, David Shifrin, and Pinchas Zukerman.
The Viano Quartet was formed in Los Angeles at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in 2015. Each
member of the quartet is grateful for the unwavering support from their mentors at the Curtis
Institute and Colburn Conservatory, including members of the Dover, Guarneri, and Tokyo string
quartets.
"Viano" is a portmanteau that symbolizes how the four individual instruments of a string
quartet—each beginning with the letter "v"—work harmoniously as one, like a piano, creating a
unified instrument called the "Viano".
Current as of September 2025
