Giulia Gambaro, violin
Martina Verna, violin
Giulietta Bianca Bondio, viola
Federica Colombo, cello

The Rilke Quartet was formed in 2021 within the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan from the passion for chamber music of Giulia Gambaro (violin), Martina Verna (violin), Giulietta Bianca Bondio (viola) and Federica Colombo (cello) and trained under the guidance of Maestro Carlo Feige. In October 2022, they were selected to participate in the Stauffer Artist Diploma advanced training program in String Quartet at the prestigious Stauffer Center for Strings in Cremona, where there are currently specializing with the Cremona Quartet. As part of the course they also have the opportunity to study with guest teachers from around the world, including Ettore Causa (Yale School of Music), Miguel Da Silva (Ysaÿe Quartet), Mark Messenger (Royal College of Music) and Eckart Runge (Artemis Quartet). The Quartet also had the opportunity to meet and work with Teemu Kupiainen, professor of viola and chamber music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and Danilo Rossi, historic First Viola of the Teatro alla Scala orchestra in Milan and professor at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana.

The Quartet has performed for important music festivals and cultural institutions in Italy and abroad. Prominent among them are: Concerti di Primavera (Complesso Monumentale di S. Giovanni, Cava de’ Tirreni), Inside Out (Teatro Menotti, Milan), Istituto Italiano di Cultura (Sala Balder, Helsinki), Isole di suono (Auditorium Lattuada, Milan), Notti Trasfigurate (Villa Simonetta, Milan), Mondomusica – in collaboration with violin makers Andrea and Giovanni Varazzani and bowmaker Arturo Ponce (Fondazione Città di Cremona). The special attention to the plurality of musical languages also gave rise to the fruitful collaboration with the celebrated pianist and composer Enrico Intra, with whom the Quartet premiered his new creation Ossimoro within the latest edition of the renowned JAZZMI festival. Equally notable was the repeat performance held at the LabArca Theater in collaboration with clarinetist Paolo Tomelleri.

In October 2022 the Rilke Quartet was selected to join Le Dimore del Quartetto, a European network that enhances young string quartets and cultural heritage. As part of this circuit it will soon perform for Bergamo Brescia Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2023 (Villa Vitalba, BG), Società dei Concerti Trieste – Musica con Vista (Azienda Agricola Barbieri Adele, Cormons), Società del Quartetto – MuMu Musica al Museo (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan).