Animato Quartet

The Animato Quartet, founded in 2013, is known for their passionate and spontaneous playing powerful stage presence. Described as “four top players with a vibrant energy” and hailed as “the great promise of the Dutch string quartets” (Dutch Classical Talent Award), Animato has received numerous prizes, including the Dutch Kersjes Prize, Kammermusikpreis Gut Hasselburg, and the Irene Steels-Wilsing Foundation Competition. Performing on major stages such as the Philharmonie de Paris, Gewandhaus Leipzig, and Luxembourg Philharmonie, the quartet has also toured internationally across Europe, Brazil, Canada, and Indonesia. Mentored by Marc Danel at the Dutch String Quartet Academy, they have worked with leading artists including Eberhard Feltz, Hatto Beyerle, and Alfred Brendel. Longing invites you into a journey of desire and discovery through the first quartets of Webern, Bartók, and Britten. Webern captures the height of late-romantic passion in Langsamer Satz, Bartók transforms unrequited love into a powerful exploration of sorrow and joy, and Britten finds his voice while honouring the great masters before him. For our debut album, we chose these first works because, like us, the composers were still in the process of shaping their artistic identities. With Longing, we invite listeners to enjoy this music that continues to move and inspire us, and that we hope will do the same for you.