BEETHOVEN AROUND THE WORLD
QUATUOR ÉBÈNE
Quatuor Ébène
One of the world's most sought-after chamber ensembles, known for its artistic excellence and its enthusiasm for exploring different musical styles and reaching new audiences.
CELEBRATING BEETHOVEN'S 250th BIRTHDAY
The protagonists
The String quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven
16 masterpieces that form an eternally modern artistic canon of unparalleled breadth and depth. They translate the purest humanity into music. In themselves they represent an Odyssey, a round-the-world voyage.
"Both modern and timeless, Beethoven's music is universal, transcending any physical borders. It cannot be readily classified as classical or romantic, as German, or even as Western, but it is music that express itself freely and which addresses the audiences of the future rather than its own time."
FEW FIGURES
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4 musicians
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16 String quartets
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5 continents & 18 countries visited
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7 CDs recorded live
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1 documentary
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7 video concert broadcasts
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To share in the supreme artistic achievement represented by the Beethoven Quartets
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To convey the universality of the Beethoven quartets' message and their shared resonance in cultures that appear to have little in common.
Our Goals
The genesis
Quatuor Ébène was invited as long ago as 2014 to perform the complete Beethoven quartets at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2020, the composer’s 250th jubilee year. This invitation engendered the idea of playing Beethoven not just in New York, but around the world for – as the Ode to Joy says – all humanity.
BEETHOVEN LIVE @ROUND THE WORLD- THE AUDIO PROJECT
From April 2019 to January 2020, Quatuor Ébène will travel around the world in 7 steps
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NORTH AMERICA - USA
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EUROPE - Germany & Austria
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ASIA - China, South Korea, Japan
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SOUTH AMERICA - Colombia, Brasil
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INDIA & AFRICA
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AUSTRALIA & NEW ZELAND
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EUROPE - France, Switerland, United-Kingdom, Belgium
In each zone, the quartet will undertake a concert tour. A live audio recording will capture the final concert of each tour.
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Philhadelphia (Kimmel Center)
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Vienna (Konzerthaus)
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Tokyo (Suntory Hall)
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São Paulo, Brazil (Sala São Paulo)
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Melbourne (Melbourne Recital Centre)
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New Dehli
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Paris (Philharmonie de Paris - Cité de la musique)
Quatuor Ébène will thus build towards the release of a CD box set of the complete Beethoven Quartets, Beethoven Live @round the World to be released on Warner/Erato label.
Live videos of the concerts will also be recorded
THE DOCUMENTARY FILM
"We want this project around the world penetrated by Beethoven’s humanity and brotherhood which crossed the centuries."
A film crew is joining the Quatuor Ébène on each of the 7 tours for a documentary of the quartet's journey ‘through’ Beethoven and the world.
In addition to playing the cycle in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, Quatuor Ébène will strike new ground with Beethoven, playing his music in places where a classical concert is a complete novelty, and performing for people who have never before heard a string quartet.
The quartet as a genre gives individual players the chance to shine, yet is simultaneously predicated on collaboration and concord: it shows democracy in action.
Its emotional and intellectual power is considerable, yet it is also universally accessible as it embodies underlying ideals – enlightenment, fraternity and humanism (as typified by Goethe and by Schiller in his Ode to Joy).
At the same time it is informed by Kant’s ideas on morality, good will and the categorical imperative, all of which were gaining currency in Beethoven’s time, and also by the German philosopher’s view of our relationship with the natural world, which has such resonance for the environmental issues of today.
The film will thus explore and illustrate this idealistic hypothesis and examine how it is received in the suburbs of Philadelphia, in Vienna’s Konzerthaus and in the bush of Africa’s Sahel.
2020 : RELEASE & ROLL-OUT
Throughout 2020, marking the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, Quatuor Ébène will present either a complete or partial Beethoven quartets cycle at concert venues around the world: Carnegie Hall in New York who gave the first impulse in inviting the project in 2014, Philharmonie de Paris, Herkulessaal München, Vienna Konzerthaus, Brugge Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall London, Musikfest Bremen, Robert Schumann Saal Düsseldorf, Verbier Festival in Switzerland.
The video and audio installments recorded on the world tour will be released commercially over the course of the year.
BEETHOVEN AROUND THE WORLD's MAP
Beethoven’s brotherhood ideal is more relevant and important than ever.
His creative spirit was imbued with a profound belief in international understanding, in individual freedom and in the power of music in bringing people together.
This international project convinces us to set up a dimension even higher than the music which reflects our engagements. Earth protection is the main humanist challenge of our generation.
With the support of partners and sponsors, we wish to use the global visibility of this project to favour actions of human ecology and solidarity.
OUR ENGAGEMENTS
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Environmental responsibility
A world tour means flying thousands of kilometres.
Our will: an environmental impact reduced to nothing with the financing of concrete action for the Earth in a 100% carbon offset program.
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Social responsibility
A world tour means the opportunity to meet people from different cultures.
Our will : to encompass enriching musical and personal encounters with people for whom classical music is alien and to share our passion beyond geographical and cultural boarders.
The closing concert of Beethoven live @round the world, on January 20th in the Philharmonie de Paris, receive the patronage de la Commission nationale française de l'UNESCO.
QUATUOR ÉBÈNE
Pierre Colombet, first violin
Gabriel le Magadure, Second violin
Marie Chilemme, viola
Raphaël Merlin, cello
CONTACT
Association Quatuor Ébène - Beethoven Around the world
Stéphane Goldet, chairman
Antoine Manceau, vice-chairman
Nicolas Merlin, treasurer
Administration & Fundraising
COMBO - Marielle Cohen & Jérémie Perez
+33 (0)6 19 62 91 11 / +33 (0)6 31 89 59 41
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