Quartet

Sebastian String Quartet was founded in 1990. Forerunner of Quartet was Zagreb Music Youth Quartet founded in 1982. Their repertoire encompasses a wide range of pieces, from Renaissance to contemporary music, with special emphasis on pieces written by Croatian composers. They have premiered a series of quartet compositions by A. Klobučar, A. Igrec, N. Firšt, D. Bukvić, S. Drakulić, M. Prohaska, B. Šipuš, B. Papandopulo, M. Kichl, A. Knešaureka, V. Nježića, G. Tudora, T. Uhlika… Many of these pieces were composed at their encouragement and dedicated to them. In 2002, they started a series of concerts in the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb which has hosted renowned musicians from all over the world, e.g. Milan Turković, Michael Martin Kofler, Paul Meyer, Eric Tanguy, Aleksandar Serdar, Clara Dent, Pierluigi Camicia, Gustavo Tavares, Oliver Triendl, Đorđe Stanetti, Ruben Dalibaltayan, Martina Filjak, Nada Majnarić, Boštjan Lipovšek, Robert Belinić, Krešimir Bedek and many others. Under the Croatia Records label they have recorded seven albums, three of them received nominations for croatian discographic award Porin. In 2020. cpo label has released a CD of Sebastian String Quartet with works by Božidar Kunc, Fran Lhotka and Josip Štolcer Slavenski. In 2005. Sebastian String Quartet received diploma Milka Trnina by Croatian Association of Musical Artists. On the occasion of 30 years of existance, in 2020., Sebastian String Quartet received a Plaque by Croatian Composers Society, a Charter by Croatian Association of Orchestral and Chamber Musicians and a Plaque by Croatian Association of Musical Artists. Monography Sebastian String Quartet – our 30 years, has been released in 2020.

Anđelko Krpan was born in Zagreb in 1967. He graduated in violin from the Zagreb Academy of Music, having studied with professor Kristijan Petrović, then further studied in Vienna under professor Dora Schwarzberg and graduated and received a master’s degree from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. He took masterclasses with Yfrah Neaman and Igor Ozim, and at the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland. He also won numerous prizes, of which we mention: First Prize at the International Alpe-Adria Violin Competition in Italy (in 1988), Sixth Prize at the International Vaclav Huml Violin Competition in Zagreb (in 1993), the 1989 HGZ Award, the 1993 MOZ Ivo Vuljević Award for the best young musician of Croatia and the 2002 Porin Award for discography. In 1999 he was presented with the Order of the Croatian Morning Star, with a Marko Maruliæ obverse, in 2008 he won the Milka Trnina Award by the Croatian Association of Musicians, and in 2019 the Vatroslav Lisinski Award conferred by the Croatian Association of Composers for promoting and performing music by Croatian creators. From 1990 to 1993 he was a member of the Vienna Chamber Philharmonic. From 1993 he was a member, and from 1997 to 2002 the concertmaster of the Zagreb Soloists. From 2002 to 2006 he was the concertmaster of the HNK Opera Orchestra in Zagreb [t/n: HNK designates the Croatian National Theatre]. With the Sebastian String Quartet, pianist Nada Majnariæ, and violist Marko Genero, Krpan recorded 16 CDs on the Croatia Records label. He is a violin professor at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, and since 2019 has been Vice Dean of Artistic Affairs at the same institution.

Teodora Sucala Matei started her musical education in Osijek, studying with professor Eva Hühn, and subsequently studied in Zagreb under professor Davor Philips. She graduated in violin from the Zagreb Academy of Music after having studied further with professor Leonid Sorokow. In the course of her education she won fifteen first prizes at regional and national competitions. She also won the 2012/13 Rector’s Award. She has made solo guest appearances with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Croatian Chamber and Zagreb Chamber Orchestras and has regularly collaborated with the Zagreb Soloists, Zagreb HNK Orchestra, the HRT Symphony Orchestra, the Zadar Chamber Orchestra, the Osijek HNK Orchestra and others. Since 2015 she has been a permanent member of the Zagreb Philharmonic.

Nebojša Floreani started studying viola with professor Milan Čunko at Pavao Markovac Music School in Zagreb. He then studied with professor Stefano Passaggio and graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music. For many years he was a viola teacher at Pavao Markovac School. He is a member of the HRT Symphony Orchestra.

Zlatko Rucner was born in Zagreb in 1952. He graduated in cello, after having studied with professor Valter Dešpalj, from the Zagreb Academy of Music in 1978. As a student, he made solo appearances with the Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra performing concerti by E. Elgar and A. Dvoøák. He was the solo cellist of the Zagreb Philharmonic until 1984, when he became a member of the Zagreb Soloists, with whom he stayed until his retirement in 2018. During nearly 35 years of ensemble work, he has frequently given solo performances of pieces from all musical periods composed for cello and strings, for example those by Couperin, Vivaldi, Boccherini, Haydn, Mozart or Bragato. In 2003, in the HGZ he premiered Tomislav Simoviæ’s Concert for Cello and Strings, dedicated to him by the composer. He participated in founding the Croatian Piano Trio and Zagreb String Trio, of which he has been a part for many years. Since 1996 he has taught chamber music at the Zagreb Academy of Music.