Ekaterina Valiulina, violin

Alberto Franchin, violin

Sara Dambruoso, viola

Riccardo Baldizzi, cello

Noûs (nùs) is a Greek word whose meaning is ‘mind’, and thence ‘rationality’, but also ‘inspiration’ and ‘creativity’. Quartetto Noûs, formed in 2011, has established itself in a short time as one of the most interesting chamber music ensemble of its generation. Its immersive performances are the result of a professional training where the Italian tradition and the most influential European schools are combined.

The quartet studied with the Quartetto di Cremona at the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona, at the Basel Musik Akademie with Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet), at the Escuela Superior de Música ‘Reina Sofia’ in Madrid and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena with Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet) and at the Lübeck Musikhochschule with Heime Müller (Artemis Quartet).

In 2014 Quartetto Noûs was selected to take part in the project ‘Le Dimore del Quartetto’ thanks to which it won a scholarship. During the same year it was awarded another scholarship offered by the Foundatión Albeniz of Madrid and the following year they received the Piero Farulli Prize, given to the best emerging chamber music group of that year and the Una Vita nella Musica 2015 Award at La Fenice Theatre, Venice “…for establishing itself in just a few years as one of the most promising Italian chamber music group and for displaying, early in its career, maturity of approach to the great string quartet literature; for seeking a reasoned and lasting interpretation of the masterpieces of the Classical-Romantic period and of the twentieth century, together with a determined and ongoing exploration of the contemporary music language.”

The versatility and the interpretative originality of the ensemble can be heard in the quartet’s whole repertoire. It has worked with several contemporary composers and taken part in many crossover projects with theatre and dance companies. 

The Quartetto Noûs has collaborated with renowned artists such Tommaso Lonquich, Andrea Lucchesini, Alain Meunier, Giovanni Scaglione, Sonig Tchakerian, Bruno Canino, Boris Petrushansky, Alessandro Taverna, Gloria Campaner, Enrico Bronzi.

In Italy the Quartetto Noûs performs regularly for renowned concerts societies and festivals: Società del Quartetto Milan, Unione Musicale Turin, Amici della Musica Florence, Bologna Festival and Musica Insieme Bologna, Società del Quartetto Bergamo, Società Veneziana dei Concerti, Associazione Chamber Music Trieste, Associazione Musicale Lucchese, Associazione Scarlatti Naples, I Concerti del Quirinale Rome, Stradivari Festival Cremona, Ravenna Festival and Settimane Musicali Stresa. Further afield the quartet is regularly invited to perform in Germany, Switzerland, England, France, Spain, Canada, United States, Brazil, South Korea and China. Its performances have been broadcasted on several radio stations such as Venice Classic Radio, Radio Clásica, RSI and Radio 3.

From 2013 to 2017 the quartet held a residency at Festival Ticino Musica in Lugano.

The Quartetto Noûs has recorded for labels such as Brilliant Classics, Tactus, DaVinci Edition and Warner Classics. In 2021 the quartet started to record the complete Shostakovic’s String Quartets cycle for the Brilliant Classics label.