Quatuor Mosaïques Explained

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, 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

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.

Founding (and current) members

External links

Notes and References

  1. fr. Jacques Bonnaure . L'invité de Répertoire : Le Quatuor Mosaïques . Guest of Repertoire: The Mosaic Quartet . Répertoire. 32 . Paris . January 1991 . 9–10 . 1148-6244 .
  2. 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.
  3. Upon its release, this disc was distinguished with an « 8 » dans le magazine Répertoire No. 23.
  4. Christophe Coin playing the Stradivarius violoncello « Marquis de Corberon ».
  5. 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.
  6. Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Éric Taver with an « 8 » dans le magazine Répertoire No. 136, June 2000, et un Diapason d'or dans le n° 471 de June 2000.
  7. Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Olivier-Goerges Moglia with an « 8 » dans le magazine Répertoire n° 85, November 1995 et « 5Y » dans le magazine Diapason n° 420.
  8. Upon its release, this disc was distinguished by Dominique Meyer with a « 9 » dans le magazine Répertoire n° 34, March 1991, .
  9. Upon its release, this disc was awarded a Diapason d'or, n° 393, March 1993.