Rosamonde Quartet


The Rosamonde Quartet is a French string quartet ensemble established in 1981. It takes its name from Rosamunde, a 1823 composition of incidental music by Franz Schubert, from which he reused a theme in his 13th quartet, nicknamed Rosamunde Quartet.
WWW quatuorrosamonde.com

History and musical activity

The Rosamonde Quartet was founded in 1981 by four students of Jacques Parrenin and Roland Pidoux at the Conservatoire de Paris: Agnès Sulem-Bialobroda, Thomas Tercieux, Jean Sulem and Xavier Gagnepain. Then the musicians perfected their skills at Yale University. Raphaël Hillyer, violist of the Juilliard String Quartet from 1946 to 1969, stimulated them in this project from the beginning. They have also been taught by Eugene Lehner, violist of the Kolisch Quartet, a friend of Schoenberg and Bartok, who passed on to them the heritage of the Viennese great masters of the early 20th century and the cellist Aldo Parisot as well as the members of the Tokyo Quartet.
First winners of the Menuhin Foundation, the Rosamonde Quartet won the "Concours International d'Évian" in 1983, with the "Prix d'interprétation de compositeurs modernes" and the "Prix spécial du Jury international des critiques" unanimously, and in 1986 won the First Prize of the International Quartet Competition of the European Broadcasting Union in Salzburg. It has been leading an international career playing an eclectic repertoire which includes contemporary music. It received the Grand Prix du disque de l'Académie Charles Cros in 2005 for its recording devoted to Jacques Lenot's chamber music.
It has premiered works by several composers: Quatuor Bobok by François Sarhan in 2002 Quatuor à cordes n°3 by Renaud Gagneux in 1991, Quatuor l'intranquillité by Michèle Reverdy in 1992 at the Opéra Bastille of Paris, Mémoire de la rivière '' by Tôn-Thất Tiết in 1999. It has also worked with several composers and recorded their works: Pascal Dusapin, Philippe Fénelon, Philippe Hersant, György Kurtág,, and especially with Henri Dutilleux in whose presence they recorded his Ainsi la nuit quartet and who greatly appreciated their interpretation.
The Rosamonde Quartet is regularly invited to play and give master classes in France and abroad. It regularly performs at the in Luberon.
Director Vincent Bataillon made three films with the Rosamonde Quartet in 2010–2011:

Discography

Many recordings of the Rosamonde Quartet have received awards from music magazines. Among these many records, are:Nuits: Verklärte Nacht by Arnold Schoenberg with Antoine Tamestit, second alto and Jérôme Pernoo, second cello, one quartet by Ligeti, Ainsi la nuit by Dutilleux, label Pierre Verany PV 706021