The name Viatores, Latin for ‘travellers’, refers to the four musicians’ diverse backgrounds – the UK, Germany, Portugal and Turkey – while also alluding to the daily life of a string quartet, defined by constant travel, both on stage and in their personal lives.

The quartet was founded in early 2023 at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. The four musicians are currently studying with Oliver Wille at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, and since autumn 2026 with Heime Müller and Vera Martinez-Mehner of the Cuarteto Casals at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. From 2023 to 2025, the quartet also studied with Tabea Zimmermann at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

They have received further artistic inspiration from renowned musicians such as Christian Tetzlaff, Nora Chastain, Mark Steinberg, Areta Zhula, Antje Weithaas and Johanna Staemmler.

The Viatores Quartet is ensemble in residence at the chamber music organisation ProQuartet – Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre in Paris and is supported by Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz.

Although their journey as an ensemble has been remarkably short, it has already been exceptionally intense. In just a few years, the Viatores Quartet has built an impressive record of international recognition, culminating in their outstanding victory at the ARD International Music Competition.

Their achievements include First Prize at the 2024 Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University Competition, special prizes at the prestigious Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London and at the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition, followed in 2026 by the Hans Gál Ensemble Prize awarded by the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz State Foundation. In 2024, they were also selected as an SWR New Talent, a three-year support programme including appearances at major festivals as well as radio and television productions. This rapid progression ultimately led to their success at the ARD International Music Competition, marking a major milestone in the quartet’s still young career.

In early 2025, the quartet recorded their first CD featuring works by Benjamin Britten, Fanny Hensel, Inti Figgis-Vizueta, Wenjing Guo and Fazıl Say, supported by the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition and released on the Betont label.

Louisa Staples plays a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1744, “ex Schwalbe”.
Johannes Brzoska plays a violin by Nicolas Lupot from 1806, on loan from the Alice and Hans-Joachim Thormählen Foundation.
Miguel Erlich plays a viola by Nikola Popara from 2020.
Umut Sağlam plays a cello by Georg Winterling from 1914.