VARESE QUARTET / STRING QUARTET
• BIOGRAPHY
François Galichet and Rasmus Cornelius Hansen, violin
Jacques Perez, viola, Thomas Ravez, cello
The first thing to say is that Quatuor Varèse play exquisitely…Retour ligne automatique
This is an ensemble that matches a vast range of tonal colour to a sensitive and vivid musical imagination. Richard Bratby, Gramophone
An effervescent, irresistibly authentic energy;
The evocative power of the sound, its speech and sheer elegance...
Heir to the great masters of its discipline and with its experience of the scene, the Varese quartet has attracted international acclaim by achieving outstanding results in numerous major events.
Founded at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon in 2006, the quartet was initially taught by the Ravel, Debussy and Danel quartets. Afterwards, they studied with the Quatuor Ysaÿe and worked with such highly renowned musicians as Heime Müller, Rainer Schmidt, Petr Prause, Stefan Metz and Natalia Prischepenko thanks to the Proquartet-CEMC program. More recently, they studied with Miguel Da Silva in Geneva. In 2013, the Instituto Internacional de Música de Cámara from Madrid awarded the quartet a scholarship to pursue advanced studies with Günter Pichler.
In June 2014, the Varèse quartet received the third Prize at the Paolo Borciani International Competition, Reggio Emilia (Italy), with the Special Prize for the interpretation of a contemporary work.
The same year, the quartet was awarded the Second Prize, in addition to the Special Prize for the best performance of a work by W.A.Mozart, at the Mozart International Competition, Salzburg (Austria).
The Varese quartet received several prizes in many other international events, such as: the First Prize in the first edition of the Hans Schaeuble Foundation competition in Zurich (Switzerland, 2012); the Third Prize at the Franz Schubert and Modern Music competition in Graz (Austria, 2012); the Prix Jeunes Talents 2012, Paris (France); the Grand Prix de l’Académie Ravel, Saint-Jean-de-Luz (France, 2011); the Special Prize for String Quartet in the Concours Musiques d’Ensemble (Paris, 2011) and the Second Prize, as well as the Lions Rotary Prize, at the International Chamber Music Competition in Lyon (France, 2009).
The quartet regularly performs on stage in France and abroad: Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (Germany); Concertgebouw, Bruges (Belgium); Centro Cultural Caja España-Duero, León (Spain); Théâtre National Algérien and Palais de la Culture, Algiers (Algeria); Caliara Hall, Kilkenny (Ireland); Palazzeto Bru Zane, Venice (Italy); Tokyo and Iwaki (Japan); Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh, Utrecht (Netherlands); Palais Montcalm, Québec (Québec, Canada); Hôtel Soubise, Paris...
Collaborating frequently with other artists, the ensemble has great enthusiasm towards artistic projects combining music with theatre, and even dance. During the season 22-23, they will perform with the Belgium bandoneonist Manu Comté in a Piazzolla programme and with the pianist Anne Queffélec in a Schumann programme.
The Varese quartet’s discography includes three albums, two of which were recorded at NomadMusic, all praised by the press. The last recording entitled "1893" released in November 2019 is dedicated to Debussy, Dvorak and Puccini. The next record will be a complete Schumann quartet programme.
The Varese Quartet is grateful to receive support of the "Fondation Banque Populaire" since 2012.
The quartet also has the support of the Zilber Association which lends him a violin by Giuseppe Peluzzi and a alto by Giuseppe Guadagnini.
VARESE QUARTET / STRING QUARTET
• DISCOGRAPHY
VARESE QUARTET / STRING QUARTET
• PRESS
The first thing to say is that Quatuor Varèse play exquisitely…
This is an ensemble that matches a vast range of tonal colour to a sensitive and
vivid musical imagination.
… a magical debut from a quartet that’s clearly going places.
Richard Bratby, Gramophone 2016
"(...) Ravel’s string quartet unleashed the enthusiasm of the audience. The four musicians showed great subtlety and perfect taste, magnificently rendering this kaleidoscope of Ravelian shades, combining tenderness and accuracy, fiery passion and story-telling (...)"
Christian Lorandin, resmusica.com
« An effervescent, irresistibly authentic energy;
The evocative power of the sound, its speech and sheer elegance… »
