What began in 1999 as a distraction in the university’s practice rooms for the four young French musicians has become a trademark of the Quatuor Ebène, and has generated lasting reverberations in the music scene. The quartet had an unprecedented victory at the ARD Music Competition 2004. This marked the beginning of their rise, which has culminated in numerous prizes and awards. There is no single word that describes their style: they’ve created their own. Their traditional repertoire does not suffer from their engagement with other genres; rather, their free association with diverse styles brings a productive excitement to their music. From the beginning, the complexity of their oeuvre has been greeted enthusiastically by audiences and critics.

  Currently, the quartet members are Pierre Colombet (Violin), Gabriel Le Magadure (Violin), Marie Chilemme (Viola), Raphaël Merlin (Violoncello).

  Pierre Colombet: Violin by Francesco Rugeri, Cremona (ca.1680) | Bow by Charles Tourte (Paris, 19th centery.)

Gabriel le Magadure: Violin with a Guarneri label (mid 18th century) | Bow by Dominique Pecatte (ca.1845)

Marie Chilemme: Viola by Marcellus Hollmayr, Füssen (1625) | prior possession of Mathieu Herzog

Raphaël Merlin: Violoncello by Andrea Guarneri, Cremona (1666/1680)

  This season, the Quatuor Ebène will focus on Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartets. The quartet will indeed present the complete Beethoven cycle in 2020 for their 20th birthday as well as for 250th birthday of the composer.

  The 2017/2018 season will see the Quatuor Ebène perform at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Stockholms Konserthus and Carnegie Hall New York (inter alia) as well as in festival venues such as the Musikfest Bremen and the Verbier Festival.

  Their CDs feature recordings of music by Haydn, Bartók, Debussy, Fauré, Mozart and the Mendelssohn siblings. Their 2010 album “Fiction” with jazz arrangements, has only solidified their unique position in the chamber music scene, as well as their 2014 crossover CD “Brazil,” a collaboration with Stacey Kent, and their recent recording with Michel Portal, „Eternal Stories“ (Mai 2017). In fall 2014, Erato released „A 90th Birthday Celebration“, a live recording (on CD and DVD) of Menahem Pressler birthday celebration concert with the Quatour Ebène in Paris.

  They collaborated with Philippe Jaroussky for the CD „ Green (Mélodies françaises)“ which won the BBC Music Magazine Award 2016 and published a Schubert CD.

  On the one hand, it includes Lieder, recorded with Mathias Goerne (aranged for string quartett, baritone and bass by Raphël Merlin) and on the other hand, the string quintett, recorded with Gautier Capuçon.

  The quartet was one of the award winners of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in 2007 and received support from the BBT between 2007 and 2017.

  The Quatuor Ebène’s CDs have won numerous awards, including the Gramophone Award, the ECHO Klassik, the BBC Music Magazine Award and the Midern Classic Award.

  “A string quartet that can easily morph into a jazz band,” wrote the New York Times after a 2009 performance by the Quatuor Ebène. The ensemble opened with Debussy and Haydn and then improvised on a film music theme—with exactly the same enthusiasm and passion.