Program :
PUCCINI : Crisantemi
MONTGOMERY : Strum
SIRMEN : Quatuor N°2 en si bémol majeur
1 – Andantino 2 – Allegro
Pause
SCHUBERT Quatuor N°14 « La jeune fille et la Mort » en ré mineur
1 – Allegro 2 – Andante con moto 3 – Scherzo – Allegro molto – Trio 4 – Presto
The Varèse quartet
« (…) The ravel quartet unleashes enthusiasm. The four musicians compete in subtlety and, with a perfect taste, make this ravelian kaleidoscope beautifully, oscillating between tenderness and precision, passion and narration (…) »
Christian Lorandin, Resmusica.com
Mineral and spontaneous – galvanizing energy;
The evocative power of sound, its language, its elegance …
The Varèse quartet devotes its talents to the service of the large repertoire of the string quartet. Having received the inheritance of great masters of his discipline and with his experience of the scene, the quartet has acquired real recognition across borders by distinguishing itself in the biggest international quartet competitions.
In June 2014, the Varèse quartet received the 3rd prize in the Paolo Borciani competition from Reggio Emilia as well as the special prize for the interpretation of a contemporary work, welcoming its performance in « Arcadiana » by Thomas Adès.
In February 2014, the quartet obtained the 2nd prize in the Mozart International Competition in Salzburg as well as the Special Prize rewarding the best interpretation of a work by W.A. Mozart.
The whole also received many distinctions in particular in 2012, where he brilliantly won the 1st prize of the Hans Schaeuble Foundation competition in Zurich, the 3rd Prize of the Franz Schubert competition and the music of modernity in Graz (Austria), And the youth talent 2012 prize in Paris. He was assigned the Grand Prix of the Ravel Academy in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 2011 as well as the special string quartet prize at the Ensemble Music Competition in Paris. In 2009, he obtained the 2nd Adami Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Lyon and the Lions Rotary Prize.
Founded in 2006 at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon, the Verèse Quartet received the councils of the Quartuors Debussy, Ravel and Danel. He then continued his journey with the ysaÿe quartet and benefited from Proquarte-Cemc and NSKA from privileged contact with renowned musicians such as Heime Müller, Petr Prause, Stefan Metz, Rainer Schmidt and Natalia Procchepenko. More recently, the quartet was perfected with Miguel Da Silva in Geneva. The Instituto Internacional de Música de Cámara de Madrid grants him in 2013 a scholarship to follow the master-classes of Günter Pichler, the first violin of the Alban Berg Quartet.
The quartet performs on many scenes in France and abroad: Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (Germany); Concertgebouw, Bruges (Belgium); Centro Cultural Caja España-Duero, León (Spain); Algerian national theater, Palais de la Culture, Algiers (Algeria); Caliara Hall, Kilkenny (Ireland); Palazzeto Bru Zane, Venice (Italy); Tokyo, Iwaki (Japan); Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh, Utrecht (Netherlands); Palais Montcalm, Quebec (Quebec); Soubise hotel, Paris …
He is also regularly invited to Stéphane Goldet’s shows, Frédéric Lodéon, Gaëlle Le Gallic, Jean-Pierre Derrien and Arnaud Laporte, broadcast on Radio France and France Musique.
The Varèse quartet is supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation.
The TRAIN-CAMARD Lutherie workshop generously provides a music room for its rehearsals.
The quartet also benefits from the support of the Zilber association which lends it a violin of Giuseppe Peluzzi.
Since September 2016, the quartet has been together in residence at the University of Lyon 1.
Photo by David Levenson
Program :
Bach/Busoni Chorale Prelude BMV/639 « Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ »
Brahms Three Intermezzos Op. 117
Haydn Sonata in E Flat Hob. XVI/49
Pause
Chopin Prelude in C Sharp Minor Op. 45
Nocturne in E Flat Op. 9 No. 2
Ballade No. 3 in A Flat Op. 47
Polonaise-Fantasy in A Flat Op. 61
Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp Minor Op. 39
Viv McLean
Described by Le Monde as « possessing the genius one finds in those who know how to forget themselves », since winning First Prize at the Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona, British pianist Viv McLean has performed in all the major venues in the UK as well as throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA. Viv’s concerto work includes appearances with the RPO, Philharmonia Orchestra, LPO, Halle Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, Orchestra of the Swan, Orchestra of St John’s, Northern Chamber Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of such conductors as Daniel Harding, John Wilson, Wayne Marshall, John Lubbock, Philip Hesketh, Christopher Warren-Green, Owain Arwell Hughes, Carl Davis, Rebecca Miller, Chloe Van Soeterstede and Marvin Hamlisch.
Viv plays regularly with the Adderbury Ensemble and has also performed with other leading chamber groups such as the Ysaye String Quartet, the Sacconi String Quartet, members of the Elias, Allegri, Carducci, Tippett String Quartets, Leonore Piano Trio, Ensemble 360 and the Leopold String Trio. He has collaborated with musicians such as Natalie Clein, Marianne Thorsen, Daniel Hope, Adrian Brendel, Lawrence Power, Mary Bevan, David Le Page, Guy Johnston and many others. He has performed at numerous festivals including the Cheltenham International Festival, Buxton Festival, Music in the Round Festival, Glossop Festival and Harrogate International Festival in the UK, the International Beethoven Festival, the Mecklenburg Festival and the Kultur Kreis Festival in Germany, the Festival International de Musique Classique d’Aigues-Mortes, the Melle Festival and Festival de Saintes in France, the Vinterfestspill i Bergstaden in Norway and the Musik vid Kattegatt Festival in Sweden.
Viv studied from an early age with Ruth Nye and, after attending Chetham’s School of Music, he went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Hamish Milne. Whilst studying at the Academy he was the winner of the piano competition at the Royal Overseas-League Music Competition, was selected as one of the winners of the National Federation of Music Societies’ Young Artists Competition and made his Wigmore Hall debut through winning the RAM Wigmore Award.
Viv made his BBC Radio 3 recital debut through the BBC Radio 3 Young Artists Forum scheme and has also recorded for Classic FM, WDR Radio in Germany, Radio France, ABC Radio in Australia, NRK Radio in Norway and for the Sky Arts television channel. His commercial releases have included recordings for Sony, Chandos, Signum Classics, Naxos, Nimbus, Lyrita, RPO Records, ICSM Records and his most recent albums are a Chopin recital and a selection of live recordings for Stone Records.