Sincerity, refinement, and sensibility are probably the terms that best describe the Hermès Quartet.
Those qualities, noticed at an early stage by Miguel da Silva and the
Ravel and Ysaÿe quartets, were developed and confirmed with the
guidance of Eberhard Feltz, the Artemis Quartet, and members of the
Alban Berg Quartet.
In 2009, just a year after its formation at the Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon, the quartet won First Prize at
the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition, in addition to the
Audience Prize and the SACEM Prize, thanks notably to its interpretation
of Henri Dutilleux’s Quartet Ainsi la nuit. The magic touch was in
evidence again in 2011, when it was awarded First Prize at the
prestigious Geneva International Competition. In the same year the group
received prizes from the Académie Maurice Ravel and the Fondation
Charles Oulmont.
In November 2012, to cap what was already a series of outstanding achievements, came the supreme accolade of the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, where the four French musicians, competing with more than 300 candidates from all over the world, won a First Prize that opened the doors of the foremost American concert halls.
In November 2012, to cap what was already a series of outstanding achievements, came the supreme accolade of the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, where the four French musicians, competing with more than 300 candidates from all over the world, won a First Prize that opened the doors of the foremost American concert halls.
The sensibility of its youthful musicians and the high standards they
set themselves have enabled the Hermès Quartet in a few short years to
acquire an exceptional degree of maturity and embark on a highly
promising career. Its engagements now include tours of the United States
(autumn 2013 and spring 2015), China (June 2014), Japan, and Egypt, and
of course appearances at many leading festivals and venues in France
and elsewhere in Europe (Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium), among
them the Lockenhaus Festival, the Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux,
the Festival de Radio France et de Montpellier, the Printemps des Arts
de Monte-Carlo, the Crescendo Festival in Berlin, and the Auditorium du
Louvre and Cité de la musique in Paris.
This busy schedule provides the members with the ideal opportunity to share their passion for the brilliant and deeply human repertoire of the string quartet.
This busy schedule provides the members with the ideal opportunity to share their passion for the brilliant and deeply human repertoire of the string quartet.
Creo que es justo señalar que este es un ejemplo en el que una deficiente toma de sonido arruina, por completo, el esfuerzo de los músicos. Puede que ellos sean tan brillantes como la elogiosa nota señala, pero en este caso, puedo decir que se trata de obras supremas que me sé de memoria, a las cuales llevo tres o cuatro meses estudiando a detalle, de modo que puedo compararla con otra versión, ya compartida antes en este mismo blog, que en mi opinión es el registro en disco de absoluta referencia. Ya alguna vez la había comentado, y es la del Cuarteto Belcea, que aunque sólo incluye el Quinteto en fa menor, y el resto del disco son los sextetos, basta ese registro para compararlo con este, y percatarse de los muchos deslices cometidos en el registro: pésima colocación de los micrófonos, que obstaculiza la claridad auditiva, amén de pequeños detalles interpretativos que aquí y allá me estorban y muestran una interpretación algo apresurada en cuanto la atención a los detalles. Geoffroy Couteau hace una hábil y brillante interpretación, pero indudablemente muy, pero muy por abajo de la descomunal de Till Fellner, cuya inteligencia al leer y entender a Brahms es simplemente descomunal. A pesar de las deficiencias en la toma de sonido, me parece una interpretación rescatable y digna de escucharse.
ResponderEliminarGracias por compartir.