Viola and cello duo

Past event

Iriana Fernández Llamazares and Helena Fuertes Plata, born in León and Benavides de Órbigo respectively, began their musical career at the age of eleven. Helena began her cello studies at the Conservatorio Ángel Barja de Astorga and Iriana began her viola studies at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de León, where she obtained her first Honourable Mention.
Later they both moved to the Conservatorio Superior Eduardo Martínez Torner in Oviedo to continue their training with professors Luis M. Muñiz and Igor Sulyga (Iriana) and Ignacio Alonso, Vladimir Atapin and Antonio Peña (Helena), where they both graduated in 2008 with excellent qualifications. In this context, a personal and musical relationship began that would develop over six years, during which they shared an intense academic activity as members of various chamber ensembles (mainly string quartet and quartet and quintet with piano), receiving the 1st Prize in the “Enrique de la Hoz” Biennial in 2005.
At the same time, Iriana receives an intense training, receiving the influence and advice of important international music figures such as Roberto Díaz, Jesse Levin, Sophia Reuter, Vladimir Mendelsohn or Mintcho Mintchev, among others. He has performed soloist concerts as part of the Ciclo de Jóvenes Intérpretes de León, with the orchestra “Juventudes Musicales” of León, or in the cycle dedicated to the Brandenburg concerts with Christian Rieger.
During her last year, Helena obtained an Erasmus scholarship to study at the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen (Holland) with professors Jan Ype Nota and Michel Strauss. She completes her training with courses and master classes as an active student with professors such as Ángel Luis Quintana, Rafael Ramos, Amit Peled, Paul Friedhoff, Adolfo Gutiérrez Arenas, Miguel Jiménez, David Apellániz, Pablo de Naverán, etc.
After finishing their studies in Oviedo, their paths are temporarily separated: Helena continued her Master's studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (Royal Conservatory of Brussels) with the cellist Viviane Spanoghe and Iriana studied Master in Professional Performance in Essen with Emile Cantor (viola) and Andreas Rainer (chamber music). In 2010, despite living in different European cities, they decided to resume their joint activity and to deepen the repertoire for viola and cello duo, an initiative that will see its first fruits in this concert.