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. The quartet studied with Mikhail Zemtsov, Sebastian Kolosky (Utrecht String Quartet) and Prunella Pacey (Allegri String Quartet), as well as receiving masterclasses from Gregor Sigl (Artemis Quartet) and François Guye (Quatuor Schumann).
Performances to date include recitals in the Kleine Zaal of the Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, the Stadhuis in Weesp, EXPO Berkel-Enschot as well as a live performance on Dutch Classical Radio 4. They have also performed at the Tiberius Festival in Romania (2017) and at the Young Talent Chamber Music Festival on Schiermonnikoog in March 2019. Recently, the quartet participated in the Quatour Diotima Academy held in the Abbaye de Noirlac, Bruère-Allichamps where they worked extensively with the members of the Diotima Quartet.
Future engagements include performances at the Delden Klassiek Festival, Driehoek Zomerconcerten, Théâtre d’Orléans, Podium Azijnfabriek in Den Bosch and the Delft Fringe Festival in June 2019, where they will work with visual artist Jordi Cárdenas Lozano to present ‘Tchk-Tsjech!’, a performance in which the fairytale-esque music of Léos Janácek will be accompanied by poetic and abstract slide projections.
With their name, the quartet would like to honour Frieda Belinfante, who was 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.
In April 2019, during the Dutch Musical Instrument Foundation Festival, Pau had the joyous privilege of performing with Frieda Belinfante’s bow which was only recently flown over from America.
Olivia Scheepers – violin
Fiona Robertson – violin
Sophie Vroegop – viola
Pau Marquès Oleo – ‘cello