Quatuor Ébène

Award Winner 2007

Pierre Colombet violin
Gabriel Le Magadure violin
Mathieu Herzog alto
Raphaël Merlin violoncello

Mastery, elegance, density, complicity, spirit, are words that regularly come back about the Quatuor Ébène, now considered one of the very best young quartets worldwide. In the upcoming seasons the quartet will take part in a Haydn cycle at London’s Wigmore Hall in 08/09 with the Emerson, Hagen and Arcanto Quartets. They will also celebrate the Haydn anniversary year at the Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels as well as performing at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, De Doelen Rotterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, Musikverein Vienna as well as the City of London Festival and the Menuhin Festival, Gstaad. They will also appear in many other places in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, United-States and Japan. In June 2006, Quatuor Ébène was asked to join the BBC New Generation Artists scheme. In 2004, the Quartet won First Prize in the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich, as well as the Audience Prize, two Prizes for the best interpretation and the Karl Klinger Foundation Prize. The Quatuor Ébène are also recipients of both the Fondation Groupe Banque Populaire award and more recently the Belmont Prize for Contemporary Music by the Forberg-Schneider Foundation. Chamber music partners include internationally renowned musicians such as Michel Dalberto, Frank Braley, Nicolai Lugansky, Alexandre Tharaud, Gary Hoffman, François Salque, Michel Portal, Eric Le Sage, Paul Meyer, Patricia Petibon and the Lindsay Quartet. The Quatuor Ébène is distinguished by its open-mindedness and versatility. Displaying equal facility in the classical repertoire and contemporary music, the quartet also performs jazz concerts in renowned jazz venues such as la Roque d’Anthéron, Jazz à Vienne and Vannes Jazz Festival. The Quartet has recorded a live Haydn CD for Mirare (Harmonia Mundi) which was released in February 2006. The CD was unanimously praised worldwide (Album of the Month in The Strad). This was followed by a Bartok CD released in March 2007.