The Parisii Quartet is a French

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 ...

ensemble founded in 1981.

Members

* Arnaud Vallin, first violin (2002-....) - Thierry Brodard (1981-2002) * Doriane Gable (2013-....) second violin - Jean-Michel Berrette, (1981-2013) * Dominique Lobet, viola (1981-....) * Jean-Philippe Martignoni, cello (1981-....)

History

The Parisii Quartet was created in 1981 by four students from the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, all first prize in instrument and chamber music. In 1986, the quartet won the Grand Prix Radio Canada in the Banff International Quartet Competition, a competition reserved for the top ten string quartets in the world, previously selected. Then in 1987, the formation won the

Evian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

competitions. Since then, the Parisii Quartet has performed regularly with the most prestigious chamber music societies in the world. Great soloists such as

Jean-Claude Pennetier Jean-Claude Pennetier (born 16 May 1942) is a French classical pianist. Biography Born in Châtellerault, Pennetier began studying the piano at the age of three and later entered the Conservatoire de Paris in piano and chamber music classes. A ...

Régis Pasquier Régis Pasquier (born 12 October 1945) is a French violinist from a family of musicians. His father Pierre Pasquier (1902–1986), a violist and his uncles Jean (1903), a violinist, and Étienne (1905–1997), a cellist, had founded a string trio, ...

, Pascal Moraguès,

Isabelle Moretti Isabelle Moretti (born 5 May 1964 in Lyon) is a French classical harpist. Biography Moretti studied harp at the Conservatoire de Lyon, then at the Conservatoire de Paris where she is a teacher. In 2006, she premiered the harp concertos by Phil ...

, Anne Queffélec and

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on ...

, joined the formation in the quintet repertoire.

Repertoire

The repertoire of the Parisii Quartet is extensive, ranging from the 18th to the 21st century. Indeed, the four instrumentalists have often performed the premieres of contemporary pieces, both in France and abroad. Among these pieces are works by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

, Gilbert Amy, Régis Campo,

Gérard Pesson Gérard Pesson (born 17 January 1958 in Torteron) is a French composer. Pesson studied musicology at the Sorbonne and is the composer of a number of award-winning works. Works * ''Affûts'' pour 4 percussions (2001) * ''Aggravations et final' ...

Guillaume Connesson Guillaume Connesson (One can hear Connesson pronouncing his name in thiinterview) is a French composer born in 1970 in Boulogne-Billancourt. Biography Connesson studied the piano, music theory, music history and choir conducting at the Conserva ...

Laurent Lefrançois file:MSL-Lefrancois.jpg, Laurent Lefrançois (born in 1974 in Caen) is a French composer. Life Winner of the Claude Arrieu Prize of the Sacem in 2016 and public prize at the international competition for young composers in Boulogne in 2006 ( ...

, Philippe Boivin, Garcia Roman,

Tomás Marco Tomás Marco Aragón (born 12 September 1942) is a Spanish composer and writer on music. Life and work Marco was born in Madrid where he later studied violin and composition, while at the same time pursuing the study of law (he received his li ...

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

, etc ... Their repertoire also includes works by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, Brahms and Webern, not to mention the French music of the 20th century, with

Franck Franck can refer to: People * Franck (name) Other * Franck (company), Croatian coffee and snacks company * Franck (crater), Lunar crater named after James Franck See also

* Franc (disambiguation) * Franks * Frank (disambiguation) * Fran ...

, Fauré, Vierne,

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

, Ravel and also Milhaud.

Discography

Among their recordings are the quintets with oboe by

Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and ''galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major European ...

, or the world premiere recording of the ''Quartet Book'' by

Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mon ...

(complete Boulez box set at Deutsche Grammophon). Their discography also includes many complete quartets such as those of

, Brahms, Webern and Milhaud. Their recordings of the quartets of

and Ravel have been ranked ''ffff'' by ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

'' and ''Choc'' by '' Le Monde de la musique'', also distinguished by the prize for the new academy of music for the

Franck Franck can refer to: People * Franck (name) Other * Franck (company), Croatian coffee and snacks company * Franck (crater), Lunar crater named after James Franck See also

* Franc (disambiguation) * Franks * Frank (disambiguation) * Fran ...

and Webern CD. More recently, their recording of the string quartets and piano quintet of

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

has been unanimously hailed by critics.Quatuor Parisii
(Flâneries Musicale de Reims)

References

External links

Official website
* *
Darius Milhaud: String Quartet No. 18, Op. 308 (Quatuor Parisii)
(YouTube) {{Portal bar, classical music, France Parisii Musical groups established in 1981