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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
Press Kit
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Critical Acclaim
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Tour Programs
2011-2012
Quatuor Debussy website
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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