The American Record Guide has described Massimo Quarta as "the embodiment of elegance" and according to Diapason "the brio and the sensuality of his playing, the purity of his sonority and the elegance of a diction deprived of emphasis, give to his view a tenderness and a refinement rarely heard".
Massimo Quarta sets standards in his recording for Dynamic rediscovering the original version of both better known Paganini’s works as the Six Violin Concertos played with the "Cannone" Guarneri del Gesù, the violin owned by the great Genovese virtuoso, as well as works for violin and piano (I Palpiti, Napoléon, Weigl Variations, Le Streghe).
His recording of Paganini 24 Caprices has been released in January 2005 by Chandos.
His revolutionary approach to the virtuosistic Italian music conquered the audiences and have been wildely acclaimed in the international press (CHOC Award 2004 of Le monde de la Musique) gaining him an honoured place alongside the most distinguished artists (The Strad).
Massimo Quarta came to international attention in 1991 when he won the first prize at the prestigious International Violin Competition "Premio Paganini" in Genoa.
As a result of the extraordinary success achieved from this prize, he started an international career which has taken him to be invited to major concert societies playing in Berlin (Konzerthaus, Philharmonie), Paris (Salle Pleyel, Théâtre du Châtelet), Munich (Philharmonie am Gasteig), Frankfurt (Alte Oper), Duesseldorf (Tonhalle), Tokyo (Metropolitan Art Space, Bunka Kaikan), Warsaw (Warsaw Philharmonic), Moscow (Great Hall of the Conservatory), Milan (Teatro alla Scala), Rome (Accademia di Santa Cecilia), playing with such conductors as Miun Wun Chung, Christian Thielemann, Daniel Harding, Daniele Gatti, Vladimir Yurowsky, Isaac Karbtvcevsky, Daniel Oren.
Firmly established soon as one of the most brilliant violinists of his generation, he has been guest of renowned festivals notably those in Stresa, Sarasota, Kuhmo, Spoleto, Bratislava, Kfar-Blum, Bodensee, Ljubjana, Ravenna, Città di Castello, Lyon, Naples, Sapporo, Potsdam, Berliner Festwochen and invited by Gidon Kremer in 2004 to the Kammermusikfest in Lockenhaus.
During the last years, besides his intense activity as soloist, he gradually increased his career as conductor, regularly appearing with Orchestras as I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Orchestra di Padova, Fondazione "A. Toscanini", Orchestra Haydn, Accademia di S. Cecilia Chamber Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra.
He has recently been appointed as musical artistic director of the Fondazione I.C.O. "Tito Schipa" in Lecce.
Massimo Quarta has been awarded of the International Prize "Foyer Des Artistes", of the "Gino Tani International Prize for Arts and Spectacles" and has also recorded for Philips, and the Four Seasons by A. Vivaldi with the Moskow Chamber Orchestra for Delos.
He now lives in Rome and is Professor at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Musikhochschule) in Lugano.
He plays the "Marechal Bertier-ex von Vecsey" Antonio Stradivari from 1716, kindly loaned by the "Pro Canale" Foundation of Milano.