Diotima String Quartet Biography:
The Diotima String Quartet, founded by graduates of the Paris and Lyon Conservatoires, was awarded first prize at the FNAPEC Competition, Paris in 1999, and the Contemporary Music Prize at the London String Quartet Competition in 2000, the year in which they began a two-year residency at the European Centre for Chamber Music Fontainebleau.
From the outset Diotima have been performing internationally, appearing at major concert venues and music festivals throughout Europe. Tours have taken them further afield, to Japan, USA, Mexico, South America, China and Korea.
Diotima’s repertoire ranges from Haydn to the composers of our time, with particular focus on the Classical period, French Romanticism, the early Twentieth Century, and a selection of major works from the last 50 years. An equally significant part of their activity is the performance and dissemination of newly commissioned works.
The Quartet’s first CD (2004) of works by Lachenmann and Nono received the Young Talents prize at the award ceremony ‘Diapason d’or de l’année’. Two recent recordings of Janacek’s two quartets and the Liturgia Fractal cycle by Alberto Posadas have also been awarded the critical distinction of a Diapason d’or. A CD of works by George Onslow is Diotima’s latest release (Naïve label), and a portrait of Toshio Hosokawa will soon be available. Future projects include a Schoenberg-Berg-Webern disc and quartets by Emmanuel Nunes.
Performance highlights of this and future seasons include Weimar Kunstfest, Palazzetto Bru-Zane Venice, Cité de la Musique Paris, Villa Medici Rome, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, Gulbenkian Auditorium Lisbon, Hamburger Musikfest, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Opéra Bastille Paris, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Donaueshinger Musiktage, Takefu Festival Japan, and Wigmore Hall London.
Program Details:
Programme I:
George Onslow (1783-1853): String Quartet Op.56 (1834) / 25’
1. Allegro maestoso e espressivo
2. Menuetto: moderato
3. Adagio: cantabile sostenuto
4. Finale: vivace
Toshio Hosokawa (b.1955): Blossoming (2007) / 15’ (Australian première)
Commissioned for the Tokyo String Quartet, who gave the first performance on 24 March 2007 in Cologne.
Béla Bartók (1881-1945): String Quartet No.5 (1934) / 31’
1. Allegro
2. Adagio molto
3. Scherzo. Alla bulgarese
4. Andante
5. Finale. Allegro vivace
Programme II:
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): String Quartet No.2 in C major D.32 (1812) / 17’
1. Presto
2. Andante
3. Menuetto. Allegro
4. Allegro con spirito
Matthew Shlomowitz (b.1975): Theme Street Parade (2009) / 16’ (Australian première)
Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for the Diotima Quartet, who gave the first performance on 28 November 09 at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937): String Quartet (1903) / 27’
1. Allegro moderato – Très doux
2. Assez vif – Très rythmé
3. Très lent
4. Vif et agité
Programme III:
György Ligeti (1923-2006): String Quartet No.2 (1968) / 22’
Dedicated to the LaSalle Quartet, who gave the first performance on 14 December 1969 in Baden-Baden.
1. Allegro nervoso
2. Sostenuto, molto calmo
3. Come un meccanismo di precisione
4. Presto furioso, brutale, tumultuoso
5. Allegro con delicatezza
Alberto Posadas (b.1967): from Liturgia Fractal (2004-08) / 19’ (Australian première)
Commissioned by Ars Musica Brussels, Musica Strasbourg, Casa da Música Porto and Centre for Contemporary Music in Madrid for the Diotima Quartet. The first performance of Ondulado tiempo sonoro… was given in Brussels on 21 March 2004, and Arborescencias received its première in Strasbourg on 2 October 2008.
1. Arborescencias (section D)
2. Ondulado tiempo sonoro… (section A)
Beethoven (1770-1827): String Quartet No.15 in A minor Op.132 (1825) / 44’
1. Assai sostentuto; Allegro
2. Allegro ma non tanto
3. Canzona di ringraziamento: Molto adagio
4. Alla marcia, assai vivace
5. Allegro appasionato
Diotima Quartet Discography:
George Onslow Quartets Opp.54, 55 & 56
Label: Naïve (Paris)
Ref: V5200
Distribution: Select Audio-Visual. www.savd.com.au
Toshio Hosokawa Urbilder, Landscape I, Landscape V, Silent Flowers, Blossoming
Label: NEOS (Munich)
In preparation
Distribution: Fuse Music Group. www.fusemusic.com.au
Alberto Posadas Liturgia Fractal (complete cycle, A-E)
Label: Kairos (Vienna)
Ref: 0012932KAI
Distribution: EOS MUSIC. www.eosmusic.com.au
