Created at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in 1995, the Banco de España Arriaga Quartet, in its current line-up, studies under the tutelage of Heime Müller, professor in the String Quartet Department.
Since its creation, the Quartet has given concerts in various cities around the world, such as New York, Madrid, Cologne, Marvão, Santander, Valladolid, and several localities in Andalusia and Valencia. They have had the opportunity to perform at such prominent venues as the Kölner Philharmonie, the Auditorio Nacional, the Cervantes Institute (NY), Sala Argenta, the Teatro Real, the Auditorio Sony, and the Casino Real; and have also collaborated with musicians of the calibre of Milana Chernyavska, Pablo Barragán, Silke Avenhaus, Christoph Poppen, Alekséi Ogrinchuk, and Avri Levitan. In 2025, the Arriaga Quartet participated in the Encounter of Music and Academy of Santander, the Marvão Academy (Portugal), and the Musethica project.
They have been awarded the prize for the most outstanding string quartet at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 academic years, granted by H.M. Queen Sofía of Spain. In addition, they have won major prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Vienna International Chamber Music Competition, where they received the Golden Medal, and Juventudes Musicales de España, in the chamber music category, where they were awarded second prize.
Throughout their training, the members of the quartet have received masterclasses from leading figures in the world of classical chamber music, such as Günter Pichler (Alban Berg), Heime Müller and Gregor Sigl (Artemis Quartet), Vera Martínez (Casals Quartet), Cibrán Sierra (Quiroga Quartet), Christoph Poppen (Cherubini Quartet), and Fernando Arias and Miguel Colom (Vibrart Trio).
In June 2024, the quartet performed for the Kings of Spain at the Royal Palace during the commemorative ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the coronation of King Felipe VI.
In the 2025–2026 academic year, it comprises Irene Herrero and Gustavo Gil (violins), Adriana Julio (viola), and Álvaro Lozano (cello).
