Artists
Born in Barcelona in 1980, Abel Tomàs began his musical studies with his father and his uncle. Later he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía and at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. At sixteen years of age, he was a founding member of the internationally recognized Cuarteto Casals, a chamber music ensemble that maintains a full calendar of artistic activity, appearing in the most renowned halls in Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Japan. As soloist, he has appeared with various orchestras including Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona and Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.Together with his brother Arnau Tomàs Realp and pianist Hyo-Sun Lim, Abel is a founding member of the Ludwig Trio. Aside from concertizing, Abel teaches violin and chamber music at the Escuela Superior de Música de Catalunya and additionally gives masterclasses in both Europe and the United States.
Maxime Michaluk, violí | Esther Agustí Matabosch, violí | Adam Newman, viola | Nepomuk Braun, violoncel
Format el 2017 per quatre músics europeus, el quartet va estudiar amb els membres del Hagen Quartett a la Universität Mozarteum de Salzburg. Entre els nombrosos premis que ha rebut destaquen el primer premi al Concurs Irene Steels-Wilsing Stiftung a la Heidelberger Frühling el 2020 i el segon premi i el premi Esterházy Foundation al Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition el 2022. A més, actualment són YCAT Hans Keller Artist, en la primera edició del programa. Durant els darrers anys han debutat al Wigmore Hall de Londres, l’Elbphilharmonie d’Hamburg, l’Schloss Esterházy a Eisenstadt, a Flagey a Brussel·les i a la Fundación Juan March, entre altres. En la temporada actual destaquen el seu debut al Festival de Lucerna i gires per Anglaterra i Europa.
Born in 1997, Adrià Crespo Aguilera is a pianist and music educator specialising in classical and contemporary repertoire. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at ESMUC and a Master’s degree in Advanced Piano Performance Studies at the same institution, supported by a scholarship from the Frederic Mompou Foundation. He has furthered his training through international programmes such as the Jaques-Dalcroze International Summer Course (2024), the Akademifestivalen chamber music programme at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (2025), and the 29th Wolfram Rieger International Lied Course (2025) with soprano Marta Esteban Ferrera. Since 2019, he has developed a career as a piano teacher and performer, active in solo recitals, chamber music and accompaniment. He has recently begun postgraduate studies at the Music and Arts University of Vienna (MUK).
Alba Valdivieso Passolas (Barcelona, 2002) began her musical training as a violinist and received solid choral experience in ensembles such as the Orfeó Català, the Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya, and the Cor Jove Nacional de Catalunya. In 2023, she made her solo debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Filles del Món by Marian Márquez. Since then, she has performed numerous operatic roles with orchestra, including Mimì (La Bohème), Suor Angelica, Alice (Falstaff), Lulu, Beketaten (Akhnaten), and Poppea (L'incoronazione di Poppea). She has received awards in numerous international competitions, notably the Mirna Lacambra Competition or the Juventudes Musicales de España Competition. She completed her vocal studies at the Conservatori del Liceu supported by a scholarship from the Fundació Ferrer de Música, and is currently pursuing operatic studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart.
A musician who has been praised as “a moving young poet” («Le Devoir» of Montreal), Spanish/Dutch pianist Albert Cano Smit enjoys a growing international career on the orchestral, recital, and chamber music stages. Noted for his captivating performances, storytelling quality and nuanced musicality, the First Prize winner of the 2019 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony or the Barcelona Symphony, Catalonia National Orchestra. Recital highlights have included his debuts at the Carnegie Hall, the Merkin Concert Hall recitals at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, Paris’ Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, DC, Germany’s Rheingau Music Festival, and return performances at the Steinway Society in San Jose and Auditori de Barcelona.