Gerard Claret i Serra, born in Andorra la Vella on 10 March 1951, is an Andorran violinist and one of the most important musical figures in his country. He is the son of businessman and politician Andreu Claret i Casadessús and Maria Serra, and belongs to a family closely linked to music, journalism and Catalan culture. His brother Lluís Claret is a renowned cellist.

Claret began his musical studies at the music school of Isidre Marva Palau in La Seu d’Urgell, connected to the Conservatori del Liceu. In 1964, his family moved to Barcelona, where he studied with Joan Massià, Domènech Ponsa, Manel Calsina, Gonçal Comellas and Enric Casals. From 1972 to 1976, he continued his training at the Brussels Conservatory with Agustín León Ara, later becoming his assistant. György Sebök was also an important influence in his musical development.

His professional debut took place in 1968, at the age of 17, when he performed at the Palau de la Música Catalana with his brother as a member of the Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona. That same year, he founded the Quartet Ciutat de Barcelona with Lluís Claret, Gonçal Comellas and Mateu Valero, performing in cities such as Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, and collaborating with artists including Narciso Yepes.

In 1974, he won the Tenuto Competition of Belgian Radio and Television with Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and received a medal at the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona. In 1976, he founded the Numen Quartet and became involved in the creation of the Vila-seca Music School and the Cambrils Music Festival.

In 1981, together with Lluís Claret and pianist Albert Attenelle, he founded the Trio de Barcelona, which performed the complete Beethoven piano trios at the Palau de la Música Catalana and recorded works by Ravel, Shostakovich, Dvořák, Mendelssohn and Beethoven for Harmonia Mundi. The ensemble remained active until 1994. He also promoted the Ordino Festival, now the Narciso Yepes Ordino Festival and Fundació Crèdit Andorrà.

In 1993, Gerard Claret founded one of his most important artistic projects: the Orquestra Nacional Clàssica d’Andorra, ONCA, where he has served as concertmaster-director and artistic director of the ONCA Foundation. In 1998, he received the Creu de Sant Jordi. From 2000 to 2005, he was the first director of the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, ESMUC, and in 2001 he founded the Jove Orquestra Nacional de Cambra d’Andorra.

In 2013, he created the Claret Piano Quartet with Lluís Claret, Christian Ifrim and Maruxa Llorente. In 2018, the 25th anniversary of ONCA and the 50-year artistic careers of Lluís and Gerard Claret were celebrated with the premiere of Salvador Brotons’ Double Concerto, commissioned by the ONCA Foundation, and with the return of the Trio de Barcelona to the Palau de la Música Catalana.