The Belinfante Quartet was formed in 2016 and since then has performed extensively in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. With the aim of sharing a passion for music with the wider public, they explore works from the core of the string quartet repertoire combined with lesser known masterpieces. They are currently Quartet in Residence at the Netherlands String Quartet Academy in Amsterdam and they have received masterclasses from Eberhard Feltz, Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet), the Diotima Quartet, Marc Danel (Danel Quartet), Johannes Meissl, Pavel Fischer and Gregor Sigl (Artemis Quartet).
They have performed at festivals throughout Europe including the Strijkkwartet Biënnale in Amsterdam, the Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht and the Tiberius Festival in Romania. Recent engagements include performances in the Spiegelzaal of the Concertgebouw, where they performed live on NPO Radio 4 and a performance on the Dutch television show ‘Podium Witteman’.
Future engagements include performances at the Delft Chamber Music Festival, the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam and Festival Música d’Estiu in Menorca. In June 2020 they will perform an all Beethoven recital at the Théâtre d’Orléans as part of the Beethoven Cycle initiated by the Diotima Quartet. Next season they will give recitals in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Het Jagthuis in Nederhorst den Berg, Cruquius Concerten in Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen and at Theater de Lievekamp.
In addition to these activities, the Belinfante Quartet enjoys the opportunity to work with other artists. During the Delft Fringe Festival in June 2019, they collaborated with visual artist Jordi Cárdenas Lozano to create ‘Tchk-Tsjech!’, a performance in which the fairytale-esque music of Léos Janácek was accompanied by poetic and abstract slide projections. Their performance won them the Delft Chamber Music Festival Award 2019.
With their name, the quartet would like to honour Frieda Belinfante, being a cellist and the first professional female conductor in Europe. Her sincerity, perseverance and fervour, in music as well as in other aspects of her life, form a magnificent source of inspiration.