The Ébène Quartet ( French: ''Quatuor Ébène'') is a French

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

based in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

, France.

History

Quatuor Ébène was founded in 1999 at the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory in France. The group first came to international attention in 2004 when it won first prize in the string quartet category at the ARD International Music Competition, also taking the Audience Prize, two prizes for interpretation, and the Karl Klinger Foundation Prize. The next year, the group won the Belmont Prize from the Forberg-Schneider Foundation. In 2006, Quatuor Ébène released its first recording, a live recording of three Haydn quartets, to critical acclaim. In 2009, ''

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC, was the original owner and publisher together with ...

'' named the quartet "Newcomer of the Year" for its recording of the Ravel, Fauré, and

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

string quartets. The same album won the group Recording of the Year at the 2009 Classic FM

Gramophone Awards The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the Classical music, classical record industry. The British awards are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the ...

. In 2010, the group was named Ensemble of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique. NPR named Ébène's album ''Fiction'' one of its 50 favorite albums of 2011, describing the quartet's performance as brimming with "silky smoothness and Gallic finesse".

Musical style

Quatuor Ébène is known for its versatility and performs a variety of genres, such as

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and crossover. Beyond its classical repertoire, some of the group's most popular performances have been crossover, such as a rendition of the soundtrack of ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

'', arrangements of classic

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

hits, and a jazz vocal/instrumental arrangement of " Someday My Prince Will Come" from ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

''. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' music critic Allan Kozinn highlighted the group's versatility, describing the group as "a string quartet that can easily morph into a jazz band".

Members

* Pierre Colombet,

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

* Gabriel Le Magadure, violin * Mathieu Herzog,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, until 2015 * Adrien Boisseau, viola, 2015–2017 * Marie Chilemme, viola, since 2017 * Matthieu Fontana,

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, until 2002 * Raphaël Merlin, cello, 2002–2024 * Yuya Okamoto, cello, since 2024

Discography

* ''

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

: Quatuors à Cordes'' (2006), Mirare * '' Bartók: Quatuors Nos. 1-3'' (2007), Mirare * ''

, Fauré & Ravel: String Quartets'' (2008), Erato * '' Brahms: String Quartet No. 1; Piano Quintet'' (2008), Erato * ''Fiction: Live at Folies Bergère'' (2011), Erato * ''

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: Dissonances'' (2011), Erato * '' Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn'' (2013), Erato * ''Brazil'' (2014), Erato * '' Menahem Pressler 90th Anniversary Concert: Live in Paris'' (2014), Erato * ''

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

: Quintet and Lieder'' (2016), Erato * ''

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

: Complete String Quartets'' (2020), Erato * Mozart: String Quintets Nos 3 and 4 (2023) Erato

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebene Quartet French string quartets EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists