The Esmé Quartet is a
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer 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 violinists ...
, formed in 2016 at the
Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in
Cologne, Germany
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
by four Korean musicians. The members were long ago acquainted with each other as friends. They shared common interests and passions in music, the arts, and life. The quartet has rapidly gained a reputation as a chamber ensemble of exceptional achievement and promise.
In spring 2018, the quartet won first prize and four special prizes (Alan Bradley Mozart-Prize,
Bram Eldering
Abraham "Bram" Eldering (8 July 1865 – 17 June 1943) was a Dutch violinist and music pedagogue.
Life
Born in Groningen, Bram (abbreviation of ''Abraham'') Eldering studied violin with Jenő Hubay at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Aft ...
Beethoven-Prize, the ProQuartet Prize and Prize of the Esterházy Foundation) at the prestigious
Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, and in autumn 2018, it became HSBC Laureate of the Académie du Festival d’Aix. This recognition followed prizes at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition, Irene-Steels Wilsing String Quartet Competition and the 55th Possehl Musik Preis Lübeck Germany.
The Esmé Quartet has appeared at
St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Flagey Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, and as a resident quartet at the 2018
Aix-en-Provence festival, the 2018 McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal and Classic Esterházy in
Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074.
In the Habsburg ...
. The quartet has participated in the ProQuartet Academy in Roussillon (France) in 2017 and in the 2017 Jeunesses Musicales International Chamber Music Campus in Weikersheim, where it was awarded a special prize in the form of a residency at the 2019 Heidelberger Streichquartettfest.
Esmé studied with (
Artemis Quartet
The Artemis Quartet is a German string quartet, founded in 1989 in Lübeck, and now based in Berlin. The quartet is named for the Greek goddess of hunting and the wilderness.
History
The first members of the Artemis Quartet, Wilken Ranck, Isab ...
) at the
Musikhochschule Lübeck
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
, Germany and is currently studying with Oliver Wille (
Kuss Quartet
The Kuss Quartet with Jana Kuss (violin), Oliver Wille (violin), William Coleman (viola) and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan (cello) is a Berlin-based string quartet. It was founded in 1991 at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" by the two violinists o ...
) at the
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (german: Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, italics=unset, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating ...
, Germany.
The ensemble takes its name from an Old French word meaning ‘loved‘ or ‘esteemed‘.
Members
The members are:
* Wonhee Bae, first violin
* Yuna Ha, second violin
* Dimitri Murrath, viola
* Ye-eun Heo, violoncello.
References
String quartets
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