Quatuor Diotima

Program

Gabriel Fauré : Quintet for piano and strings in C minor
Jacques Lenot : Effigies, for Piano and quartet
(Orléans International Competition Order - international composition)
Solo recital to be announced

Quatuor Diotima

This quartet which was founded by honorary graduates from the Music Academies in Paris and Lyon, received first prize for the FNAPEC contest in Paris in 1999, and the prize for contemporary music at the contest held in London in 2000. That same year on an invitation from Proquartet, they took residence at the European Centre for Chamber Music in Fontainebleau. The name of the quartet pays hommage to the quartet of Luigi Nono, Fragmente Stille, an Diotima, thus confirming their commitment in favour of the music of our time, that they wish to present at every opportunity in the context of the classical and romantic repertory for the cord quartet. Since its debut, Diotima has performed on the international scene ; they have played at most of the festivals and the most important European concerts such as the Louvre Auditorium, la Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Berlin Philarmonic, the Berlin Concert House, Musica in Strasbourg, Ars Musica in Bruxelles, Musica Nova in Helsinki, Archipel in Geneva, the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the Huddersfield Festival, the autumn festival in Budapest, New Music in Stockholm, at the CDMC in Madrid, and at the Acanthes Centre in Metz. A number of tours have taken them to Japan, to the United States, to South America, and this season they will appear in Mexico as well as in Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan), with the backing of Culturesfrance. In 2007, Diotima has been in residence at the Casa da Música in Porto, holding chamber music master classes, collaborating with young students composers in workshops and offering a panorama of music ranging from the 18th century to nowadays. They have also performed at the Présences Festival in Paris, Spitalfields in Londres, Aldeburgh, at the Medicis Villa in Rome, the festival of Aix-en-Provence, Time of Music in Viitasaari, at the festival of Ile de France and at the Settembre Musica (Turin and Milan).In 2004, they participated in the first productions of The Io Passion by Birtwistle in Aldeburgh and Bregenz, as well as touring in the UK. The creation of new pieces is a core characteristic of the Diotima Quartet ; they have given the premieres for many composers like Pauset, Dillon, Kyburz, Durand, Lévinas, Mochizuki, Durieux and Posadas. Their first CD, Reigen seliger Geister by Helmut Lachenmann coupled with Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima by Nono (ASSAI 222 492), received the utmost praise from the Charles Cros Academy aswell as the ‘Diapason prize discovery'. In 2004, they received « the Gold diapason prize of the year » awarded by the Diapason magazine for this recording. For ALPHA they recorded the two Janacek quartets (including the version for viola d'amore) as well as the less well-known quartets by Lucien Durosoir (1878-1955). Liturgia fractal by Alberto Posadas has just been released by KAIROS and their next discography projects will be dedicated to the music of the Israelian composer Chaya Czernowin, to Dieter Schnebel from Germany and Toshio Hosokawa from Japan. A disc dedicated to Goerges Onslow will be released by NAÏVE and the 3rd Quartet by Thomas Larcher (Madhares) on the ECM label.