The Quatuor Mosaïques is an Austrian string quartet, founded in 1987 by Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof, Anita Mitterer, and Christophe Coin, four members of the Concentus Musicus Wien[1] who play on historical musical instruments. The name of the quartet refers to mosaics and is intended to reference the way details impact on the complete work of art. They specialize in music of the 18th century.
The three Austrian musicians and the French cellist Christophe Coin got to know each other in Vienna as members of Concentus Musicus working under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. With their shared experiences as a starting point, they decided to form a classical string quartet playing on period instruments. The primary aim was not to create the sort of ‘authenticity’ that belongs in museums, but rather to ensure in their work a living link to the great European quartet tradition. Hence an essential inspiration for the group was the Végh Quartet, of which Erich Höbarth had been a member for its last three years.[2]
The Quatuor Mosaïques has received the Gramophone Award for its interpretations of Haydn. It has given concerts with pianists András Schiff and Patrick Cohen , clarinettists Wolfgang and Sabine Meyer, and cellists Miklós Perényi and Raphaël Pidoux.
In 2006 the Quatuor was invited to Spain to play the quartet of Stradivari instruments belonging to the Spanish Crown. It presented a programme of quartets by Arriaga at the Royal Palace in Madrid, which was subsequently recorded on CD. The Quatuor Mosaïques' very extensive repertoire includes rarely performed works by Pleyel, Tomasini, Werner, Jadin, Gross, Boëly, Schumann and Brahms. It has performed works of the early twentieth century, by composers such as Debussy, Bartók and Webern.
Discography
[edit]The group's first recordings were on the Astree label of Michel Bernstein. The Quatuor's discography includes works by Arriaga, Beethoven, Boccherini, Boëly, Haydn, H. Jadin, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert.
- Albrechtsberger, Entre ciel et terre (2009, coll. « Parenthèses », Laborie label LC24508) OCLC 906258105
- Arriaga, Trois quatuors à cordes (1-7 September 2006, Universal Music) OCLC 430971632
- Beethoven, Quatuors à cordes nos 1 - 6, op. 18 (April 1994, September 2004 et March 2005, Astrée / 3CD Naïve) OCLC 32951649, 61688263, 780028684
- Beethoven, Quatuors à cordes nos 12 - 16 (2017, 3 SACD Naïve)
- Boccherini, Quintettes avec piano, op. 56 et 57 [G.407-408 et G.411] et [G.414-415 et G.418] « dédiés à la Nation Française » - Quatuor Mosaïques et Patrick Cohen, piano-forte (October 1993 et November 1989, Astrée E 8518 & E 8721)[3] OCLC 30652640, OCLC 23160715
- Boëly, Trio en ut majeur, op. 5 n° 2 - Quatuor à cordes n° 1 - Mélodie pour violoncelle n° 2 en mi majeur - Sextuor en ré majeur - Quatuor Mosaïques, Christophe Coin,[4] Éric Lebrun, orgue (2009, Laborie label) OCLC 495067992
- David, Troisième quatuor en ré mineur (May 2010, coll. « Parenthèses », Laborie LC 24585) OCLC 884862067
- Johann Benjamin Gross - – Bal(l)ade Romantique (Laborie, LC09)
- Joseph Haydn — repris en coffret de 10CD OCLC 865013406 :
- Quatuors opus 20 (janvier 1990 et mars 1992, 2CD Astrée E 8786 / E8785)[5] OCLC 221968911, 600014570
- Quatuors opus 33 (August 1995 et October 1996, 2CD Astrée-Auvidis) OCLC 52419401, 640058223
- Quatuors opus 64 (June 2003, Naïve) OCLC 54968124, 417449015
- Quatuors opus 76 (November 1998 et January 2000, 2CD Astrée / Naïve E 8665)[6] OCLC 225495609, 850882933
- Quatuors opus 77 (March 1989, Astrée E 8800) OCLC 386773363
- Les sept dernières paroles de Notre Rédempteur sur la croix (17 April 1992, Astrée E 8803) OCLC 63161187
- Hyacinthe et Louis Emmanuel Jadin, Trois quatuors à cordes : op. 3 n° 1, op. 2 n° 1; Quatuor n° 2 (October 1994, Valois V4738 / Naïve V4903)[7] OCLC 221471820, 659256760, BnF 38589737f
- Mendelssohn, Quatuor à cordes, op. 12 et 13 (December 1997, Astrée-Auvidis) OCLC 40419654
- Mozart — Les quatuors étant repris en coffret de 4CD OCLC 57362659 :
- Quatuor à cordes 18 et 19 (November 1993, Astrée E 8748)
- Quatuor à cordes K 387 et 421 (September 1990, Astrée E 8746)[8] OCLC 870140873
- Quatuors à cordes K 499 et K 589 (January 2001, Astrée-Auvidis) OCLC 48512769
- Quatuors à cordes K 575 et K 590 (July 1998, Astrée) OCLC 56915122
- Quintette avec clarinette K 581; Trio « les quilles » K 498 - Wolfgang Meyer, clarinette; Patrick Cohen, hammerflügel (October et November 1992, Astrée E 8736 / Naïve)[9] OCLC 71442218, 854864739
- Schubert :
- Woelfl, Quatuors à cordes op. 4 n° 3 et op. 10 nos 1 & 4 - sur des instruments du luthier viennois, Franz Geissenhof (1753–1821) (26-30 September 2011, Paladino Music PMR0023) OCLC 808668204
Founding (and current) members
[edit]- Erich Höbarth (violin, J. Guarnerius filius Andreae, Cremona 1705)
- Andrea Bischof (violin, 18th century French)
- Anita Mitterer (viola, Girolamo Devirchis, Brescia 1588)
- Christophe Coin (cello, C.A. Testore, Milano 1758)
References
[edit]- ^ Jacques Bonnaure (January 1991). "L'invité de Répertoire : Le Quatuor Mosaïques" [Guest of Repertoire: The Mosaic Quartet]. Répertoire (in French) (32). Paris: 9–10. ISSN 1148-6244.
- ^ Kerstin Unseld [SWR2 (Südwestrundfunk Kanal 2], December 16, 2009. Das Zweite ist das Erste ("The Second is the First"). "Für die Streichquartett-Kultur erwies sich dieses Zusammentreffen von Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof, Anita Mitterer, und Christophe Coin als ein Glücksfall, blickt man auf die mittlerweile mehr als 20 Jahre zurück, in denen die vier Concentus Musicus-Mitglieder als Quatuor Mosaïques auf den Konzertbühnen international gastieren und Erfolge feiern… Dabei stand nie eine museale 'Authentizität' im Vordergrund, vielmehr sollte die lebendige Verbindung zur großen europäischen Quartett-Tradition spürbar werden. So gingen vom legendären Végh-Quartett, dessen Mitglied Erich Höbarth drei Jahre lang war, wesentliche Impulse aus: Letztes Ziel jeder Interpretation sollte sein, den inneren geistigen Reichtum der Musik zu offenbaren." ("This meeting of Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof, Anita Mitterer, and Christophe Coin turned out to be a stroke of luck for the string quartet culture, if one looks back on the now more than 20 years in which the four Concentus Musicus members performed as Quatuor Mosaïques giving guest performances on international concert stages and celebrating success... A museum-like 'authenticity' was never the priority, rather the living connection to the great European quartet tradition should be noticeable. Essential impulses emanated from the legendary Végh Quartet, of which Erich Höbarth was a member for three years: the ultimate goal of every interpretation should be to reveal the inner spiritual richness of the music ") Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- ^ Upon its release, this disc was distinguished with an « 8 » dans le magazine Répertoire No. 23.
- ^ Christophe Coin playing the Stradivarius violoncello « Marquis de Corberon ».
- ^ Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Jean Hamon with a « 10 » dans le magazine Répertoire No. 28 et le second, par Jean Hamon également, dans le No. 54. Télérama pour sa part ayant donné « 4 f », dans le No. 2113 au premier, en juillet 1990.
- ^ Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Éric Taver with an « 8 » dans le magazine Répertoire No. 136, June 2000, p. 47 et un Diapason d'or dans le n° 471 de June 2000.
- ^ Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Olivier-Goerges Moglia with an « 8 » dans le magazine Répertoire n° 85, November 1995 p. 47 et « 5Y » dans le magazine Diapason n° 420.
- ^ Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Dominique Meyer with a « 9 » dans le magazine Répertoire n° 34, March 1991, p. 61.
- ^ Upon its release, this disc was awarded a Diapason d'or, n° 393, March 1993.