The Animato Quartet is widely considered to be one of the most promising young string quartets in the Netherlands with its members being praised for their passionate, spontaneous playing and their powerful on-stage presence. Founded in 2013, their programs contain a combination of classical music with inspiration from the abundant string quartet repertoire and contemporary compositions some of which have been especially composed for the ensemble. 

Within the Netherlands the quartet has performed in the Kleine Zaal of Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Tivoli-Vredenburg in Utrecht and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam during the 2020 String Quartet Biennale. They played at festivals such as the Utrecht International Chamber Music Festival and outside the Netherlands, in Portugal, Germany, Norway and France. 

In 2014, not long after their inauguration, the Animato Quartet received an award for ‘Artistic Excellence’ at the Brazilian ‘Festival International de Inverno de Campos do Jordao’. In the same year, the quartet was laureate of the Grachtenfestival Competition (2014). Later, in 2017 the quartet received the prestigious string quartet grant from the Kersjes Foundation, one of the largest private culture funds in the Netherlands supporting young talent.

Het kwartet neemt zo’n vier keer per jaar deel aan sessies van de European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) waar Hatto Beyerle en Johannes Meissl de musici intensief begeleiden. Daarnaast volgt het Animato regelmatig lessen bij Eberhard Feltz en Marc Danel; als onderdeel van het Postgraduate programma bij de Nederlandse Strijkkwartet Academie (NSKA) is het kwartet gedurende drie jaar Artist in Residence. Masterclasses volgde het kwartet bij o.m. Alfred Brendel, Ásdis Valdimarsdóttir, Jan Willem de Vriend en Gerhard Schulz.
Het Animato Kwartet maakt onderdeel uit van Le Dimore del Quartetto, een organisatie die jonge strijkkwartetten bijstaat in hun carrière door het creëren van studie- en concertmogelijkheden in historische huizen in Italië.