Concert information
At the invitation of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Info
The start of an exciting project: the Quatuor Ébène, celebrated for its energetic and precise interpretations, will perform all 16 string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven over two seasons. The very first concert of the cycle already reveals the emotional range the composer achieved in his quartet oeuvre. On one hand, there is the graceful, dance-like G major quartet from Beethoven’s early Opus 18; on the other, two late quartets: the dark and anguished Opus 131 and Opus 135, which shifts between humour and melancholy and was Beethoven’s last completed work.
Artists
Quatuor Ébène:
Pierre Colombet violin
Gabriel Le Magadure violin
Hélène Clément viola
Yuya Okamoto cello
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in G major, op. 18 No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in F major, op. 135
Interval
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in C sharp minor, op. 131
Additional information
Duration ca. 2 hours (incl. 20 minutes interval)
Chamber Music Hall
17 to 40 €
Introduction
19:30
Series T: Quartet
Biography
Quatuor Ébène
For over 20 years, the French Quatuor Ébène has cultivated a new, boundary-crossing approach to string quartet playing. This is evident in their often unconventional program choices, which not only encompass the classical repertoire, but also venture into genres such as jazz and popular music. The quartet’s distinctive expressive power was already apparent when the then-young ensemble participated in—and won—the ARD International Music Competition in 2004. The ensemble’s members had met five years earlier while studying at the music college in Boulogne-Billancourt.
Today, the ensemble, which studied with Quatuor Ysaÿe, Gábor Takács, Eberhard Feltz, and György Kurtág, is considered one of the best string quartets in the world. Particularly noteworthy is their recording of the complete string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as their commitment to supporting young musicians through their Ébène Quartet Academy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. Quatuor Ébène impresses with playing that is at once homogeneous and multifaceted, profound yet light, powerful and intimate. And that, despite the fact—as they repeatedly emphasize—they often have quite differing opinions. But in one thing they all agree: “Creativity only emerges from differences.”
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