Musiksommer: Quatuor Ébène

"Beethoven / Merlin / Tchaikovsky"

A concert by the Quatuor Ébène is and remains a musical and sensual event. Over the last two decades, the quartet has set standards by making well-known repertoire audible anew, going beyond perfection, and seeking engagement with the audience. The telepathic understanding, artistic daring, and musical individuality of the ensemble create breathtaking concert experiences, intensely focused and touched by visionary insights.

Classical

Pierre Colombet: Violin
Gabriel Le Magadure: Violin
Marie Chilemme: Viola
Yuya Okamoto: Cello

Admission: € 38.00 - Half-price pass not valid!
Tickets available at the Vitalwelt Tourist Info office in Bad Schallerbach 07249/420710, tickets@musiksommerbadschallerbach.at  or through Ö-Ticket.
http://www.musiksommerbadschallerbach.at/  

Quatuor Ébène
A concert by the Quatuor Ébène is and remains a musical and sensual event. Over the last two decades, the quartet has set standards by making well-known repertoire audible anew, going beyond perfection, and seeking and requiring engagement with the audience. A new facet will now be added by cellist Yuya Okamoto, who will join the esteemed ensemble in spring 2024.
After studying with the Quatuor Ysaÿe in Paris, as well as with Gábor Takács, Eberhard Feltz, and György Kurtág, he achieved an unprecedented and outstanding victory at the ARD music competition in 2004. This marked the beginning of Quatuor Ébène's rise, which led to numerous further awards and recognitions. For example, in 2005, the quartet received the Belmont Prize from the Forberg-Schneider Foundation, was a prizewinner of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in 2007, and in 2019, as the first ensemble, was honored with the award from the Frankfurt Music Fair.
In addition to traditional repertoire, the quartet also continually explores other styles, as noted by the New York Times in 2009: "A string quartet that can effortlessly transform into a jazz band." What began in 1999 as a diversion for four young musicians in the university rehearsal rooms—improvising over jazz standards & pop songs—has become a hallmark of Quatuor Ébène. To date, the quartet has released three albums in these genres: Fiction (2010), Brazil (2014), and Eternal Stories (2017). In June 2024, the ensemble will present a new project titled "Waves" with electronic sound artist Xavier Tribolet on stages across Europe.
The free handling of diverse styles creates a tension that enriches every aspect of their artistic work. This multifacetedness has been enthusiastically received by both audiences and critics from the very beginning.
The albums of Quatuor Ébène featuring recordings of Bartók, Beethoven, Debussy, Haydn, Fauré, and the Mendelssohn siblings have received multiple awards, including the Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and Midem Classic Award. In 2015 & 2016, the musicians focused on the theme of "song," participating in the album "Green (Mélodies françaises)" by Philippe Jaroussky. For their Schubert album, they collaborated with Matthias Goerne (song arrangements for string quartet, baritone, and double bass by Raphaël Merlin) and Gautier Gapuçon (string quintet in C major, D 956).
Together with Antoine Tamestit, Quatuor Ébène recorded the Mozart string quintets KV 515 & KV 516, which were released in spring 2023. The album was awarded prizes such as the Choc Classica, Diapason d’Or, and Gramophone of the Month.
At the forefront is the recording of Beethoven's 16 string quartets. Between May 2019 and January 2020, the quartet recorded these as part of a global project across six continents. With this complete recording, the four Frenchmen simultaneously celebrated their 20th anniversary on stage, which they crowned with performances of the complete string quartet cycle in major concert halls across Europe, such as the Philharmonie de Paris or the Alte Oper Frankfurt. They also had invitations from Carnegie Hall New York, the Verbier Festival, and the Vienna Concert House on their agenda.
In January 2021, the quartet was commissioned by the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München to establish a string quartet class as part of the newly founded "Quatuor Ébène Academy."
Since last season, the quartet has been performing together with the Belcea Quartet in a series at the Vienna Concert House. For the 23/24 season, Philharmonie Luxembourg has chosen Quatuor Ébène as the ensemble in residence; in addition to chamber music concerts, the musicians will present John Adams' Absolute Jest with the Luxembourg Philharmonic. As Quatuor en résidence à Radio France, they will perform three times in Paris this season. Other highlights of the season include guest performances at the Salzburg Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Megaron Athens, the Wigmore Hall London, and Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY.

Instruments & Bows
Pierre Colombet plays two violins: one violin by Antonio Stradivari from 1717, the "Piatti," generously loaned to him by a generous sponsor through Beares International Violin Society, and a violin by Matteo Goffriller from 1736, generously provided by Gabriele Forberg-Schneider, as well as a bow by Charles Tourte (Paris, 19th century), also loaned by Gabriele Forberg-Schneider.
Gabriel Le Magadure plays two violins: the "ex-Baron Rothschild Peter Guarneri of Venice," a loan from the Miller-Porter Collection through Beare’s International Violin Society, and a violin from around 1740 with a Guarneri label, a loan from Gabriele Forberg-Schneider. He plays a bow by Dominique Pecatte (ca. 1845), loaned by Gabriele Forberg-Schneider.
Marie Chilemme plays two violas: a Stradivari from 1734, the "Gibson," a generous loan from the "Stradivari Foundation Habisreutinger," and a viola by Marcellus Hollmayr, Füssen (1625), a loan from Gabriele Forberg-Schneider.
Yuya Okamoto plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino, Milan (1682).

Program
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 1 in F major op. 18 No. 1
Raphaël Merlin
SELF PORTRAIT IN THREE COLORS, STRING QUARTET
***
Peter Iljitsch Tchaikovsky
String Quartet No. 3 in E minor op. 30

“As the fragrances seem to transform into tones, echoes resonate from the depth of space, and how the four weave thoughtfully together, only to then seize fiercely and expand tumultuously – it was intoxicating.” — Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2023

General Info
* The box office opens 90 minutes before the event begins.
* Admission starts about 45 minutes before the start.
* NEW: Numbered seat reservations via oeticket


Ticket Sales

Please note that reserved tickets must be paid for!

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Outlets: Tobacco shops, ticket offices, tourist information centers, MediaMarkts, etc.
Bookings via the Musiksommer website are processed through oeticket: www.musiksommerbadschallerbach.at 

Vitalwelt
tickets@musiksommerbadschallerbach.at  
Promenade 2, 4701 Bad Schallerbach
+43 7249 420 710
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(excluding holidays)

Discounts
Half-Price Pass
Especially for regular audiences from the region, valid all year round. For only € 35.00, you can purchase your personal Half-Price Pass for 2025, which is valid for many events! Excluded are events with agency involvement as well as concerts that cannot otherwise be economically realized.

Upper Austrian Newspaper Card
15% discount

Upper Austrian Senior Citizens' Alliance and Upper Austrian Pensioners' Association
€ 2.00 discount at many events.

Vitalwelt Guest Card
50% discount in advance sale only with personal registration at the Vitalwelt office.

Ö1 Club
10% discount

Others
50% discount for children, young people, students, and persons with disabilities.

For students of the Upper Austrian State Music School under 18 years, the uniform price of € 5.00 applies when mentioning the music school and teacher.