The Croatian musicians performed works by Croatian composers Luka Sorkočević and Juraj Tkalčić, Spanish composer Joaquín Turina Pérez, and Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.
The concert was held at the Royal Palace of Madrid and was attended by some 200 guests, including representatives of the EU diplomatic corps, Mediterranean countries and figures from Spain's social, political and cultural life. Croatia was represented by Ambassador Nives Malenica.
The Spanish royal couple, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, visited Zagreb in November 2022, and that was the first visit of a Spanish king to Croatia.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Zagreb in October 2021 and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Madrid in March 2022.
"Our bilateral relations are continuing to grow stronger," Ambassador Malenica said, noting that ties between Croats and Spaniards have existed for centuries, and that the two nations share interest in the Mediterranean.
"We share the same values and we are particularly close because of the Mediterranean. It marks our political, social and cultural ties," the ambassador said, thanking the Spanish public institution Patrimonio Nacional for helping the Croatian Embassy in Madrid organise the concert.
The Zagreb Quartet, founded in 1919, last week held a concert in Mallorca, and is scheduled to perform in Seville and Cádiz in May.
Its current members are violinists Martin Krpan and Davor Philips, viola player Hrvoje Philips, and cellist Martin Jordan.
"This concert was special for us because the instruments we played were gifted by the Stradivari family to the Spanish royal family," Davor Philips told Hina.