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The Debussy Quartet
(l to r)
Christophe Collette & Dorian Lamotte, violin; Fabrice Bihan, cello; Vincent Deprecq, viola  
 
"It is rare today to find a young quartet with the self-assurance to present music in an interpretation that steps outside convention. The Debussy Quartet's approach to the Ravel Quartet is one of intense beauty achieved by an unusual rhythmic freedom. The players use colour perfectly and capture every subtle nuance with a rare degree of clarity."
The Strad

"...a luminous performance...testimony to both the plausibility of the ideas and the virtuosity of this group of young French musicians who can project both abandon and control at the same time."
The Washington Post

"It is a smoothly integrated ensemble with excellent intonation. Collette is a decisive leader with an appealing tonal palette."
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"Fabrice Bihan’s cello unrolled the dark harmonic ground over which the other strings in unison streamed. The second of two melodies...was developed with exceptional intonation by leader Christophe Collette, and smoothly integrated beside the richly coloured ostinato in Dorian Lamotte’s 2nd violin and Vincent Deprecq’s viola."
Showtime.ca

"The result was a total success. The public acclaims and the critics applaud. The Debussy Quartet plays with a grand heart."
Le Figaro

"The Debussy Quartet was as impressionistic as a Corot painting: voices stood out clearly against a misty, swirling background in warm, subdued colors. These players handle this music as naturally as their native tongue, without stress or strain; the accents were pungent but mild, the very sound projected a languid, peaceful dreaminess."
Strings Magazine

"Here is a sensitive ensemble, with a rich breath, a full sonority whose freshness allows a true emotion to come through, allied to a warm intensity and an expressive vision of the thoughts at the interior of the music."
Le Monde de la Musique

"Since standing ovations are usually reserved for the end of concerts, the audience seemed almost pained to contain its appreciation for the delicate, inspired reading of Mozart's C major Quartet"
Worcester Telegram

"Of the Debussy, the program's best, the dance-like second movement stood out most. Beautifully controlled and coordinated, rich and refined, it was like enjoying a secret indulgence. After pin-drop stillness in the hymn-like third movement, the performance ended in a series of sparkling, fast pirouettes."
Palm Beach Post

"They played with such grace and delicacy that practically each note was a precious gem. The ensemble seems to specialize in pianissimos, with incredible precision. Tuning, dynamics and balance all approached perfection." Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Boxe Boxe Dance/Quartet


 Mozart Requiem performance documentary

 Barber: Adagio;Presto
Mozart: Tuba mirum
Mozart: Dies Irae

 Ravel: Quartet 2nd mvmt
Webern: Langsamer satz

Webern: op. 28
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Debussy Quartet/Quatuor Debussy

The Debussy Quartet is renowned internationally for its exciting performances and award-winning  recordings. In major concert halls from New York to Tokyo they perform a wide range of works,  and are perhaps most well known for their passionate devotion to the French repertoire. The quartet's performances of the Ravel, Debussy and Fauré quartets are legendary, and these four musicians continue to create new audiences for works of their countrymen such as Lalo, Bonnal and Milhaud.

Winners of the Evian International Quartet Competition and the Victoire de la Musique, Quatuor Debussy has just finished a ten year recording contract for the Arion label. The quartet maintains a demanding schedule of touring and recording, and they administer and teach at the festival they founded in the south of France, Les Cordes en Ballade.

Among the Debussy Quartet's current projects are the landmark new CD and documentary film of of the Mozart Requiem, which has generated a great deal of interest and excitement about this transcription made by a friend of Karl Mozart in 1802, Peter Lichtenthal. The quartet has also embarked on a collaboration with Compagnie La Baraka, in which they are incorporated as choreographed elements while performing on their respective instruments in concert with the dancers.   

Each year, the quartet performs more than one hundred concerts across the globe, and is regularly heard at the world's most distinguished concert halls: the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Philarmonie in Madrid, the Grand Théâtre in Geneva, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Théâtre du Châtelet, and the Musée du Louvre in Paris. They are also featured in many of Europe's finest festivals, including the Luberon Quartet Festival in France, the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the European Quartet Week in Cork, and the Beethovenfest in Bonn.

Based in Lyon, the Quartet's international performance schedule has included extensive North American tours including appearances in New York, Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego, Houston, Austin, Palm Beach as well as return engagements in Detroit, St. Louis and Washington, DC and many other communities from coast to coast.

The Quartet's repertoire includes the major string quartet literature and beyond, including the quartets of Ravel and Debussy, works of Schubert, Mozart, Brahms, Bartok, Beethoven, Shostakovich, Janacek, Turina, Arriaga, Amy, Webern, Onslow, Franck, Milhuad and more.

Following the Debussy Quartet's award-winning Harmonia Mundi releases, the CD releases on the Arion label include the complete Shostakovich Quartets and works of late romantic French composer Ermend Bonnal. Recent releases include the Brahms and Weber clarinet quintets with clarinetist Jean Francois Verdier, and the 1802 Mozart Requiem transcription of Peter Lichtenthal.

In addition to the Grand Prize at the 1993 Evian International String Quartet Competition, the quartet was chosen the "Best Chamber Music Ensemble" of 1996 Victoires de la Musique. Their recent recordings have also been award winners, including the honor of the coveted "Choc" award of Le Monde de la Musique for their Webern CD on Harmonia Mundi.
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