Quatuor Ébène

Within a decade of its 1999 formation at the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory, the Quatuor Ébène became a highly respected string quartet, known for its unique blend of classical mastery and crossover repertoire. The founding members were Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, Mathieu Herzog (replaced by Adrien Boisseau in 2015, then Marie Chilemme in 2017), and Raphaël Merlin. The quartet achieved major recognition after winning the 2004 ARD International Competition in Munich and the 2005 Belmont Prize. In 2006, the quartet performed as part of the BBC's "New Generation Artists" and made its debut recording of Haydn quartets on the Mirare Label. Its 2008 Virgin Classics recording of Debussy, Fauré, and Ravel quartets won the 2009 Gramophone Record of the Year award. The quartet is highly acclaimed for its classical performances and its crossover work, often featuring film music like Pulp Fiction and Streets of Philadelphia. The quartet released its first all-crossover album Fiction in 2010 In 2020, they celebrated Beethoven's 250th birthday by releasing a complete set of his string quartets, Beethoven Around the World, alongside a global tour. After nearly 25 years, cellist Raphaël Merlin departed to pursue other musical avenues (conducting and composing), and his place was filled by Yuya Okamoto. Following their highly acclaimed albums Milestones (2020) and 'Round Midnight (2021), they recorded a new album of Octets by Mendelssohn and Enescu with the Belcea Quartet.