Quatuor Ébène

Recognized as one of France's leading string quartets, Quatuor Ébène  - also known as the Ébène Quartet - was formed in 1999 by former students of the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory: Pierre Colombet (first violin), Gabriel Le Magadure (second violin), Mathieu Herzog (viola), and Matthieu Fontana (cello), who was later replaced in 2002 by Raphaël Merlin. In their early years, the quartet’s members studied with the Quatuor Ysaÿe at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, and also studied under violinist Gábor Takács-Nagy and composer György Kurtág in Hungary. Tied for second prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2003, the group went on to win First Jury Prize and Audience Prize at the ARD International Competition in Munich, Germany the following year, before being named one of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists in 2006. Signed to the Virgin Classics label, Quatuor Ébène recorded a series of critically acclaimed albums, including Bartók: Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3 (2007), Debussy, Fauré, Ravel: String Quartets (2008, Gramophone Chamber Music Recording of the Year), Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 & String Quintet (2009). 1 & String Quintet with Japanese pianist Akiko Yamamoto (2009), and Fiction (2010), a recital of film themes which won the Victoire de la musique Classique. That award-winning album was followed by Mozart: String Quartets KV 465 & KV 421, Divertimento KV 138 (2011). Quatuor Ébène then moved to the Erato label and released Mendelssohn: Felix & Fanny (2013), which was awarded a Diapason d'or, and Brazil (2014), which featured interpretations of South American standards with contributions from Stacey Kent and Bernard Lavilliers. Invited to the 90th birthday concert of former Beaux Arts Trio member Menahem Pressler, the quartet collaborated with brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Nicholas Angelich, Michel Dalberto, Michel Portal, Nathalie Dessay, Philippe Jaroussky and Matthias Goerne. There have been several changes of musicians on viola, with Adrien Boisseau replacing Mathieu Herzog in 2015, and Marie Chilemme replacing him in 2017. In between performances in major halls and classical music festivals around the world, including an invitation to New York's Carnegie Hall in 2020, the Beethoven string quartet cycle Around the World (2020) was recorded live and spread over seven volumes, which were then brought together in a box set. In 2021, 'Round Midnight (featuring Antoine Tamestit and Nicolas Altstaedt) combined compositions by Dutilleux and Schoenberg with modern composers Thelonius Monk, Cole Porter, Henry Mancini, and Victor Young. Quatuor Ébène’s 2023 release Mozart: String Quartets K. 515 & K. 516 earned them a Diapason d'or award.