Bogotá Piano Quartet is formed by musicians Mauricio Arias-Esguerra (piano), Juan Carlos Higuita (violin), Ivan León (cello) and Raúl García (viola). All four are outstanding musicians in the Colombian scene. In addition to performing the classical repertoire for this ensemble, they have ventured into the Colombian repertoire.

Initially founded as Bogotá Piano Trio by Arias-Esguerra, Higuita and León, the group has premiered several works and has performed in different venues, such as the Gran Teatro Nacional del Perú, Universidad de las Artes de Guayaquil (Ecuador), Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Teatro Colón de Bogotá, Teatro Colón of Bogotá, International Music Festival of Cartagena, International Chamber Music Festival of Barranquilla, National Chamber Music Encounter of the University of Antioquia, International Piano Festival Suprematismo Sonoro (Ibagué), City of Cúcuta Music Festival, among others.

In 2023, they will publish the complete chamber music works of Antonio María Valencia for the Egea Suramérica label.

In addition, violist Raúl García joined the group this year.

 

Mauricio Arias-Esguerra

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Pianist, composer, improviser, Mauricio Arias-Esguerra is a versatile Colombian musician. Composer of Rapsodia Camaleónica for trumpet, piano and orchestra. He has performed in various continents and important venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York and Festival di Spoleto (Italy), representing Colombia, along with Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra. As a pianist, one of his projects is the promotion of pieces by contemporary Colombian composers. He has published two piano solo albums on the Toccata label: ¡Colombia Viva! and ¡Colombia Viva! Vol. 2, both albums focused on the contemporary music of his native Colombia. Award-winning pianist at Kingsville, Schmidbauer, Peabody Mason, USasu Bösendorfer, Panama City piano competitions. In Colombia, he was the winner of the 1st Fryderyk Chopin National Piano Competition and the UIS National Piano Competition. He studied piano with Ludmila Weber (Corpas University, BM), Baruch Meir and Robert Hamilton (Arizona State University, DMA). He has studied composition with Rodney Rogers and Jorge Pinzón, in addition to participating in various courses with composers James DeMars, Zygmunt Krauze, Zhou Long, Philippe Manoury, Martijn Padding, Paul Patterson, Alessandro Solbiati, Simon Steen-Andersen, Chen Yi. He has been commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, University of Florida Symphonic Band, Bogotá Department of Education. He has collaborated with singer Valeriano Lanchas, trumpeter Pacho Flores, violinist Aisha Syed, among others. Mauricio is currently assistant professor at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Founding member of Bogotá Piano Trio. His albums also include La trompeta camaleónica (in collaboration with trumpeter Randy Lee).

Scores available through Filarmonika.com

Juan Carlos Higuita

Outstanding Colombian violinist, soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue, great connoisseur of the contemporary Latin American repertoire, which earned him a Latin Grammy nomination and a nomination for the “classical Next 2017” awards.

He is currently professor of violin and chamber music at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He is a member of the Sociedad de Cámara de Bogotá and the ensemble CG specializing in contemporary music. For nine years he was first violin of the Q-Arte quartet, one of the leading quartets in Latin America.

Iván León

Graduated with undergraduate and master’s degrees from the A. Boito conservatory in Parma with (Laurea Cum Laude). First prize winner of the Bonoris de Montichiari competition and third prize of the Nuovi Orizzonti competition in the chamber music category. He has given trio and quartet recitals in theaters such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the National Theater in London; Verdi Theater in Trieste, Regio Theater in Parma, Colón Theater in Bogotá and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Theater among others. He has premiered works by Philip Glass and George Fenton, with whom he worked closely.

He was co-principal of the London SBS orchestra, he has collaborated with orchestras such as St Martin in the Fields, BBC Symphony, St Petersburg Philharmonic. He is currently a cellist of the Bogotá Piano Trio, of the string quartet of the National Symphony of Colombia and a professor at the Javeriana University.

He completed Bachelor and Master studies in violin with academic excellence at the University of Music and the Conservatory of Vienna-Austria. 

Juan Carlos Higuita has participated as a performer or guest professor in programs at different theaters and universities in the United States of America, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. He has also made recordings for French Television, Austrian Radio and Italian Television.

Raúl García

Currently, he is Principal Viola of the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia and develops a pedagogical work as professor of viola in the Faculties of Music of the J.N. Corpas University Foundation, the Central University and the Master’s program in Music of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He also regularly gives master classes at renowned music schools such as the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music.

He is a violist graduated from the music studies program of the Juan N. Corpas University Foundation with Summa Cum Laude distinction and winner of the Georgina Lucy Grosvenor Memorial Prize for excellence, awarded by the Yale School of Music.

Winner of the Georgina Lucy Grosvenor Memorial Prize for excellence, awarded by the Yale School of Music. He has performed in the most prestigious auditoriums and concert halls in his native country and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, the National Arts Centre, the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, the Teatro Colón, the Luis Ángel Arango Library, the Leonard Bernstein Memorial Stage and the Lincoln Center in New York. He has also collaborated with artists such as Ani Kavafian, Gary Hoffman, Andrés Díaz, Chee Yun Kim, Donald Weilerstein, David Shifrin, Ettore Causa, Gilbert Kalish, the Tokyo and Julliard String Quartets, among others.

A passionate chamber music and solo performer, Raúl has appeared at The St. Lawrence Quartet Chamber Music Seminar, Innsbrook Institute, Zukerman’s Young Artist Program, Pacific Music Festival (PMF), Yellow Barn, the Perlman Music Program (PMP), the Guadalajara International Music Festival (FIMG), the Menuhin Music Festival Gstaad, Pro Música San Miguel de Allende, the Esmeraldas International Music Festival and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad.