Formed by Cláudio Cruz (first violin), Igor Sarudiansky (second violin), Horácio Schaeffer (viola), and Alceu Reis (cello), the Quarteto Amazônia is one of the most important Brazilian chamber groups. It has a repertory of compositions by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, and Schubert, but the group is constituted, in its majority, by works of Brazilian composers, from important though obscure works like the two "Quartetos" by Lorenzo Fernandez. The quartet's recording of Heitor Villa-Lobos' "Quartetos Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11" was awarded in 1997 as the Best Album by APCA (Association of Art Critics of São Paulo). Having also recorded with success another album that challenges the frontiers between classical and popular music, Adiós Nonino/Quarteto Amazônia Toca Astor Piazzolla (1991), the group recorded in the same year two CDs in a joint venture between Brazil, Austria, and Croatia; one of them dedicated to Brazilian composers recorded at ORF (Austria's State Radio and TV company), including the "Quarteto No. 3" (Alberto Nepomuceno), the "Sonata para Cordas" (Antônio Carlos Gomes), and the "Quarteto" (Alexandre Levy), recorded for the first time. In 2000, the quartet realized its first European tour with concerts in France, Germany, and Austria. In the next year, in the second tour, they performed in Rome, Vienna, Prague, and other cities. ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide