Ebène Quartet Comes to America in March For Eight-City Tour
France’s Dynamic Young Ebène Quartet Comes to America in March For Eight-City Tour, Including Performances in Washington D.C. and in New York City at (Le) Poisson Rouge and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall
Quartet’s Debut Album on Virgin Classics, Featuring Quartets by Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré, Already Getting Rave Reviews
“What a sensational disc! At a time when there is a multitude of crack new quartets, Quatuor Ebène here stake their claim to join the top rank with riveting playing that encompasses an almost other-worldly sound-range. The Debussy especially left me reeling.”
– Gramophone “Editor’s Choice,” December 2008
Described by the Strad magazine as “interpreters of rare understanding and communicative flair,” France’s dynamic, genre-crossing Ebène Quartet comes to America in March 2009 for an eight-city tour that will include performances in Washington, D.C. at the Library of Congress (March 13), as well as in New York City at (Le) Poisson Rouge (March 11) and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall (March 20). Showcasing its trademark versatility and adventurousness, the Quartet will perform a wide range of repertoire. At both New York venues, for example, it will play classical and romantic chamber works and, during the second half of the Poisson Rouge program, improvisations. Both New York concerts will feature music heard on the group’s Virgin Classics debut album: Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor at (Le) Poisson Rouge, and Ravel’s String Quartet in F major at Weill.
Though all four members of the Ebène Quartet are still only in their 20s, the group has quickly become one of Europe’s most talked-about ensembles. It is regularly lauded not only for its invigorating performances of standard chamber music repertory, but also for its equally compelling performances of contemporary fare, popular music, and even jazz.
Debussy and Ravel wrote only one quartet each, and the two have often appeared together on disc. However, the addition of the sole quartet by Fauré, on this first release of the Ebène Quartet’s new exclusive contract with Virgin Classics, provides an opportunity to hear these three great French quartets on a single album. Critical acclaim for the recording, issued in the U.S. in October, has been extremely enthusiastic on both sides of the Atlantic. In its five-star review, London’s Times summed it up this way: “Three masterpieces played by young musicians with a rare degree of expressive subtlety, blended sonorities, and electrifying joy.” Gramophone named the disc an “Editor’s Choice” in December, and it was also a Sunday Times “CD of the Week” and a BBC Music magazine five-star review. New Yorker critic Alex Ross called the album “outstanding” on his popular blog, The Rest is Noise, and directed readers to a YouTube video featuring the ensemble playing “Misirlou”:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBu-DXn0M3M&eurl=http://www.quatuorebene.com/en/article/page/jazz
Tour dates and complete programs for the New York concerts follow. For additional information visit www.quatuorebene.com.
Members of the Ebène Quartet
Pierre Colombet (violin); Gabriel Le Magadure (violin); Mathieu Herzog (viola); Raphaël Merlin (cello)
US TOUR DATES – March 2009
March 6
Boston, MA
Private concert
March 8
Oklahama City, OK – Chamber Music In Oklahoma
Program includes Fauré Quartet
March 11
New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street
Haydn: Quartet in D major, Op. 71, No. 2; Debussy: Quartet in G minor, Op. 10; Original transcriptions and improvisations
General admission with suggested donation of $15
Doors open 7pm, for event at 7:30 pm
Event information: 212-505-FISH
lepoissonrouge.inticketing.com/evinfo.php?eventid=30893&sid
March 13
Washington, D.C. – Library of Congress
Program includes Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré Quartets
March 15
Neskowin, OR – Neskowin Chamber Music
Program includes Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré Quartets
March 16 and 17
Portland, OR – Portland Friends of Chamber Music
Program on March 17 includes Fauré Quartet
March 18
Seattle, WA – Seattle Symphony
March 20
New York, NY – Weill Recital Hall
Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 136; Brahms: Quartet in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1; Ravel: String Quartet in F major
March 22
Gainesville, FL
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For further information contact:
Glenn Petry, 21C Media Group: (212) 625-2038, [email protected]
Mariko Tada, EMI Classics: (212) 786-8964, [email protected]
– February 19, 2009