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 2026/2027 season include debut performances at Chamber Music Houston, Austin Chamber Music Center, Chicago Chamber Music Society, Montana Chamber Music, the Phillips Collection in Washington DC, the Los Angeles Music Guild, the Royal Concertgebouw, Coast Recital Society, Caramoor Center for the Music and Arts, Schubert Club in St. Paul MN, and Chamber Music Charleston. The quartet also makes return appearances at Chamber Music Tulsa, Society of the Four Arts, Music at Evergreen in Baltimore, Northwestern’s Winter Chamber Music Festival, Cecilian Chamber Series, and a tour through Oregon with Chamber Music Northwest. The quartet looks forward to visiting residencies this season at University of California Santa Barbara, Washington University in Saint Louis, the University of Victoria, Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley, and Vancouver Academy of Music Chamberfest. This season also features exciting collaborations with pianist Sir Stephen Hough, pianist Illia Ovcharenko, tenor Nicholas Phan, bassist Nina Bernat, and guitarist Jason Vieaux.
Equally committed to both beloved masterworks and contemporary repertoire, the Viano Quartet actively collaborates with today’s leading composers, including Sir Stephen Hough, Gavin Bryars, Kevin Lau, Chris Rogerson, and Caroline Shaw. Most recently, they premiered String Quartet No. 2 “Dhara” by Indian American composer Reena Esmail in July 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 released in summer 2025 on Apple Music's Platoon label. 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. Gramophone praised the album as "a gripping voyage into the sublime." Their debut EP, Portraits, was released in 2023 as one of the first albums 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, University of Buffalo, Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute, the Colburn Academy, Duke University, and Indiana University South Bend. They have also collaborated with many of the world’s finest 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 July 2026
