Segerstrom Center for the Arts Presents Center Debut of Ebène Quartet

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1 CONTACT Tim Dunn (714) x4209, Laura Lanzi (714) x4371, Images: SCFTA.org/media RELEASE DATE Segerstrom Center for the Arts Presents Center Debut of Ebène Quartet Sunday, March 4, 2018 in Samueli Theater; tickets on sale now COSTA MESA, CA Segerstrom Center for the Arts welcomes the Center debut performance of the acclaimed Ebène Quartet on March 4, 2018 at 2:00pm. Since coming to international attention after winning first prize at the ARD Music Competition in 2004, the Ebène Quartet has been thrilling audiences and critics with their superb renditions of classical favorites and arrangements of popular and jazz works. What began as a distraction in university practice rooms has resulted in one of today s most praised classical ensembles, renowned for its unique style and fresh approach to the chamber repertoire. The Ebène Quartet won the 2009 Gramophone Awards for both Recording of the Year and Chamber music. Quartet members include Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violins; Marie Chilemme, viola; and Raphaël Merlin, violoncello. Single tickets start at $29 and are now available online at at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714)

2 Ebène Quartet NEWS 2/5 Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds the Colburn Foundation for its support of the Chamber Music Series and its corporate partners including Kia Motors America, Official Automotive Partner; United Airlines, Official Airline; and Omaha Steaks International, Official Fine Food Retailer. PROGRAM NOTES Haydn: String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2, Quinten Joseph Haydn ( ) composed the six quartets of his Opus 76 shortly after returning from his second trip to London, completing them in the summer of 1797 when he was sixty-five years old. This was a moment of transition for Haydn, as he was moving away from instrumental music: all his symphonies were behind him, and he would write only a few more string quartets. Haydn was at this point writing at a very rarefied level, and the String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2, is particularly impressive. It is sometimes nicknamed the Quinten (Fifths) because the first movement is constructed so rigorously around that interval. But Haydn is just as rigorous in his handling of tonality, and much of the tension in this quartet rises from his stark opposition of D major and D minor. Fauré: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 121 Gabriel Fauré ( ) completed his sole string quartet in September 1924, about a month before his death. It was to be his final work. It was also his only chamber work not to include a piano. The composer wrote to his wife: I have undertaken a quartet for strings, without piano. This is a genre which Beethoven made famous and causes all those who are not Beethoven to be terrified of it! So, you can well imagine I am frightened, too. And as was Beethoven when composing his last quartets, Fauré was now completely deaf. The style of the first movement is abstract, and more dissonant, than what one may expect from Fauré s traditionally lyrical music. However, the impressionistic second movement s Andante is considered one of the finest pieces of string quartet writing, bathed in a supernatural light. The final Allegro can be perceived as a scherzo in disguise. The playful pizzicato and spiccato accompaniments support long-breathed melodies. However, once we are accustomed to the pace of the background, the music may give listeners a sense of an intimate meditation. Beethoven: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 Rasumovsky The second of three Rasumovsky quartets projects a strong Russian bearing with an exotic intensity, in dedication to the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count Andrey Rasumovsky. The first movement begins with two definitive chords followed by a long pause. Almost furtively, a theme slowly evolves but is repeatedly interrupted throughout the movement, each time thwarting the momentum only to catapult forward when it resumes, ending in a quiet whisper. The slow movement glides in smooth, long lines of gentle repose, as if

3 Ebène Quartet NEWS 3/5 Beethoven is contemplating a starry sky. The third movement starts quietly but eventually glitters with a lively treatment of a famous Russian theme also used by Mussorgsky in Boris Godunov in a combination of fugue and variation. The presto finale encapsulates the vivid polarity of dark and light with a wild march to its very end. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION 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 Ebène Quartet, and has generated lasting reverberations in the music scene. The four breathe new life into chamber music through their consistently direct, open-minded perspective on the works. Regardless of the genre, they approach the music with humility and respect. They change styles with gusto, and yet remain themselves: with all the passion that they experience for each piece, and which they bring to the stage and to their audiences directly and authentically. 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. After studies with the Ysaÿe Quartet in Paris and with Gábor Takács, Eberhard Feltz and György Kurtág, the quartet had an unprecedented victory at the ARD Music Competition This marked the beginning of their rise, which has culminated in numerous prizes and awards. The Ebène Quartet s concerts are marked by a special élan. With their charismatic playing, their fresh approach to tradition and their open engagement with new forms, the musicians have been successful in reaching a wide audience of young listeners; they communicate their knowledge in regular master classes at the Conservatoire Paris. The Quartet was one of the award winners of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in 2007 and received support from the BBT between 2007 and In 2005, the ensemble won the Belmont Prize of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation. Since then, the Foundation has worked closely with the musicians, who are performing on instruments chosen with and loaned by Gabriele Forberg-Schneider since 2009: Pierre Colombet -- Violin by Francesco Rugeri, Cremona (ca.1680) / Bow by Charles Tourte (Paris, 19th century.); Gabriel le Magadure -- Violin with a Guarneri label (mid 18th century) / Bow by Dominique Pecatte (ca.1845); Raphaël Merlin -- Violoncello by Andrea Guarneri, Cremona (1666/1680). The Ebène Quartet s CDs, featuring recordings of music by Haydn, Bartók, Debussy, Fauré, Mozart and the Mendelssohn siblings have won numerous awards, including the Gramophone Award, the ECHO Klassik, the BBC Music Magazine Award and the Midern Classic Award. Their 2010 album Fiction with jazz

4 Ebène Quartet NEWS 4/5 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 Presslers birthday celebration concert with the Ebène Quartet in Paris. In 2015/2016 the musicians focused on the genre of the lied. 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, and on the other hand, the string quintet, recorded with Gautier Capuçon. The fundamental classical repertoire for string quartet will remain a cornerstone: this season, the Ebène Quartet 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 the 250th birthday of the composer. The season will see the Ebène Quartet perform at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Stockholms Konserthus and Carnegie Hall as well as in festival venues such as the Musikfest Bremen and the Verbier Festival. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs. Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County s largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School. The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation s performing arts centers for providing education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center s programs reach hundreds of thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the Center more comprehensively with Orange County s many diverse communities. The CDI supports flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and engage audiences of the future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for

5 Ebène Quartet NEWS 5/5 Children with Disabilities. The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with non-cultural organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond the ever-changing needs of the community. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In addition to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a presenting and producing institution, it also identifies the beautiful 14-acre campus that embraces the Center s own facilities as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award -winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art. Ebène Quartet Segerstrom Center for the Arts Samueli Theater Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 2:00pm 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA Program: Haydn: String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2, Quinten Fauré: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 121 Beethoven: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 Rasumovsky Tickets - Start at $29 In person - The Box Office Online Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily SCFTA.org Phone - (714) Open 10 a.m. 6 p.m. daily Group Sales - (714) Information provided is accurate at the time of printing, but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a private, non-profit organization. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a registered trademark. # # #