Quatuor Mosaïques
Encyclopedia
The Quatuor Mosaïques is an Austria
n string quartet
, founded in 1987 by four members of the Concentus Musicus Wien
, playing on historical musical instrument
s. They specialize in music of the 18th century and their Haydn recordings have received critical acclaim, including several Gramophone Award
s.
The three Austrian musicians and the French cellist Christophe Coin got to know
each other in Vienna as members of Nikolaus Harnoncourt
’s Concentus Musicus.
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.
The ultimate objective of each interpretation must be to reveal the inner spiritual
wealth of the music:
‘In a mosaic, every detail is seen to have been brilliantly thought out, yet the eye is also
capable of apprehending the picture as a whole. It is the same with music: you have to work
on the details, then you have to create the best possible listening conditions, and get the
distance just right so that the listener can see how the elements have been put together, and
at the same time get a complete view of the work of art.’ (Christophe Coin)
The Quatuor Mosaïques is regularly described as one of the leading string quartets
of the present day. This is backed up by its many award-winning performances. The
ensemble has received the prestigious Gramophone Award repeatedly for its
interpretations of Haydn, for example. It gives concerts with pianists András Schiff
and Patrick Cohen, clarinettists Wolfgang and Sabine Meyer
, and cellists
Miklós Pérenyi
and Raphael 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 Cuartetos 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 and others, as well as the
great names of the classical Viennese repertoire, up to and including Schumann and
Brahms. Increasingly it performs works of the early twentieth century, by composers
such as Debussy, Bartók and Webern.
. The Quatuor’s discography includes works by Arriaga, Beethoven, Boccherini, Boëly, Haydn, Jadin, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, founded in 1987 by four members of the Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
, playing on historical musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s. They specialize in music of the 18th century and their Haydn recordings have received critical acclaim, including several Gramophone Award
Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Awards are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry, often referred to as the Oscars for classical music. The winners are selected annually by critics for the Gramophone magazine and various members of the industry, including...
s.
The three Austrian musicians and the French cellist Christophe Coin got to know
each other in Vienna as members of Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
’s Concentus Musicus.
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.
The ultimate objective of each interpretation must be to reveal the inner spiritual
wealth of the music:
‘In a mosaic, every detail is seen to have been brilliantly thought out, yet the eye is also
capable of apprehending the picture as a whole. It is the same with music: you have to work
on the details, then you have to create the best possible listening conditions, and get the
distance just right so that the listener can see how the elements have been put together, and
at the same time get a complete view of the work of art.’ (Christophe Coin)
The Quatuor Mosaïques is regularly described as one of the leading string quartets
of the present day. This is backed up by its many award-winning performances. The
ensemble has received the prestigious Gramophone Award repeatedly for its
interpretations of Haydn, for example. It gives concerts with pianists András Schiff
András Schiff
András Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
and Patrick Cohen, clarinettists Wolfgang and Sabine Meyer
Sabine Meyer
Sabine Meyer is a German classical clarinetist.-Biography:Meyer began playing the clarinet at an early age. Her first teacher was her father, also a clarinetist...
, and cellists
Miklós Pérenyi
Miklós Perényi
Miklós Perényi is a Hungarian cellist. He was born in Budapest into a musical family and studied at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Musec in Budapest with Ede Banda and Enrico Mainardi. He continued his studies at the Accademia Santa Cecilia, graduating in 1962...
and Raphael 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 Cuartetos 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 and others, as well as the
great names of the classical Viennese repertoire, up to and including Schumann and
Brahms. Increasingly it performs works of the early twentieth century, by composers
such as Debussy, Bartók and Webern.
Discography
The groups first recordings were on the Astree label of Michel BernsteinMichel Bernstein
Michel Bernstein was a French musical producer and founder of several record labels.Bernstein's first contact with classical music was hearing the school music teacher play Beethoven on an out-of-tune piano at the age of 15, but thereafter he took a lively interest in music and recordings.-...
. The Quatuor’s discography includes works by Arriaga, Beethoven, Boccherini, Boëly, Haydn, Jadin, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert.
Current members
- Erich Höbarth (violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, J. Guarnerius filius Andreae, Cremona 1705) - Andrea Bischof (violin, 18th century French)
- Anita Mitterer (violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, Girolamo Devirchis, Brescia 1588) - Christophe Coin (celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, C.A. Testore, Milano 1758)