Program :

Divertimento en ré Majeur K.136 de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  

Quatuor en mi bémol Majeur de Fanny Mendelssohn 

Quatuor en fa mineur, Op.80 de Félix Mendelssohn 

Biography of the Armingaud Quartet

The Quatuor Armingaud was born of the complicity of four musicians whose friendship matured over many years before circumstances finally allowed them to come together musically to form a string quartet.

The ensemble draws on the diversity of each musician’s background. It forges its musical identity by drawing on years of experience playing with national orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States, and with chamber music ensembles that have won numerous international competitions. The teaching received from the greatest artists in the field guides its aesthetic approach.

The ensemble has chosen a name that reflects its professional roots in the Occitanie and Nouvelle Aquitaine regions, as well as the particular instrumental characteristics of its members: three of them, violinists by training, alternate the roles of violinist and violist in the quartet, depending on the works and their preferences.

Jules Armingaud, a leading figure in nineteenth-century chamber music, was an ideal mentor for them. Born in Bayonne, and noticed and adopted by the Parisian music scene, Jules Armingaud founded a quartet bearing his name in 1855, with Édouard Lalo, another famous violinist and great personal friend, as viola player before taking over as second violinist a few years later. For many years, this first Armingaud Quartet distinguished itself as one of the leading chamber music ensembles of the day, being chosen by the renowned pianist Clara Schumann to accompany her on her Paris tours. Its members’ commitment to the great Germanic repertoire (Mendelssohn, Beethoven) and their involvement in showcasing the French repertoire of the time were particularly remarkable.

So it was with humility and respect that Fanny Spangaro, Jean-Louis Constant, Jean-Baptiste Jourdin and Tristan Liehr decided to adopt the name ‘Quatuor Armingaud’ as a tribute to this brilliant 19th-century ensemble.

Program

– J. Haydn , Sonate HOB XVI: 34

– F.Poulenc , Thème varié FP151

Mendelssohn: Prelude and Fugue in A-flat Major, Op. 35, No. 4

Mozart Sonate No.4 KV 282

~ Pause ~

– R.Schumann, Kreisleriana Op.16

Honoka KOBAYASHI, Piano
Originally from Japan, Honoka Kobayashi is a solo pianist, chamber musician, accompanist and vocal leader.
She studies at the Tokyo Conservatory (Tokyo College of Music) in Solo Piano and Master in Piano Accompaniment.
She then continued her studies at the CNSMDP (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris) in piano accompaniment, chamber music and vocal direction classes. She has the opportunity to study with Jennifer Fichet, Guillaume Sigier, Claire Désert, Érika Guiomar, Nathalie Dang, Jean-Fréderic Neuburger and Yumi Otsu.
She also perfected her skills at the HEM in Geneva with Louis Schwizgebel in Master piano concert.
As a solo pianist, she won numerous awards in Japan, such as the Grand Prize of the Asian International Music Competition, the Grand Prize of the Tateshina International Music Competition and the second prize of the Osaka International Music Competition.
Also as a chamber musician, she won the Grand Prix with the unanimity of 17 juries as well as five other prizes at the International Melody Competition in Gordes (France) in 2022. She will also participate in the Aix-en-Provence festival as as singing director as part of the Voix 2024 residency.
She also supports internships, masterclasses, international competitions, in France and abroad.
She taught as an accompanist pianist at the Pôle supérieur d’enseignement artistic and at the CRR (Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional) in Boulogne-Billancourt in 2022-2023.