Jesús Guridi was one of a number of composers born in the last quarter of the 19th century, who also included Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla, driven by a desire to create and promote Spanish music with a genuinely national identity.

With their authentic folk-tinged atmosphere, Guridi’s two string quartets follow his foremost philosophical concern of creating beautiful works of art, with their moments of modal serenity and richly diverse sophistication.

The Bretón String Quartet was formed in 2003 when four musicians with extensive experience in various chamber music ensembles and sharing a passion for string quartets and Spanish composers, decided to go beyond the repertoire that is most routinely programmed, to explore this Spanish repertoire from the past to the present day.