George Enescu; Felix Mendelssohn - Octets (Quatuor Ébène; Belcea Quartet)

Information

Composer: George Enescu; Felix Mendelssohn

• Mendelssohn - String Octet in E-Flat Major, Op. 20, MWV R20
• Enescu - String Octet in C Major, Op. 7

Quatuor Ébène

    Pierre Colombet, violin

    Gabriel Le Magadure, violin

    Marie Chilemme, viola

    Yuya Okamoto, cello

Belcea Quartet

    Corina Belcea, violin

    Suyeon Kang, violin

    Krzysztof Chorzelski, viola

    Antoine Lederlin, cello

Date: 2026

Label: Warner Classics

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In a landmark collaboration, the Paris-based Quatuor Ébène and London-based Belcea Quartet join forces to perform octets by Felix Mendelssohn and George Enescu, composed 75 years apart when the composers were teenagers. Mendelssohn wrote his octet at 16 as a birthday gift for his violin teacher, while Enescu composed his at 18, blending influences from Strauss, Debussy, Beethoven, and Romanian folk music. The ensembles’ 2024 performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and Philadelphia and Carnegie Hall were lauded for their virtuosity, depth, and emotional intensity, with critics highlighting the ensembles’ orchestral cohesion, dramatic insight, and the thrilling interplay of tenderness and turbulence across both works.

Quatuor Ébène, trained with the Quatuor Ysaÿe and distinguished mentors such as Gábor Takács, Eberhard Feltz, and György Kurtág, rose to international prominence after their 2004 ARD Music Competition success. The quartet has since earned prestigious accolades, including the Belmont Prize (2005), the Borletti-Buitoni Trust award (2007), and the Frankfurt Music Prize (2019). Beyond the classical canon, Ébène embraces jazz and popular music, producing acclaimed albums like Fiction (2010), Brazil (2014), and Eternal Stories (2017), showcasing their stylistic versatility. Their recordings of Bartók, Beethoven, Debussy, Haydn, Fauré, and the Mendelssohns have received critical acclaim, while collaborations with Philippe Jaroussky, Matthias Goerne, and Gautier Capuçon highlight their innovative approach and commitment to engaging new audiences.

The Belcea Quartet, formed by musicians from Romania, Korea-Australia, Poland, and France, is renowned for its passionate precision and expressive depth. Its repertoire ranges from Haydn and Beethoven to Bartók, Janáček, and Szymanowski, while also championing contemporary composers such as Penderecki, Turnage, and Connesson. Through the Belcea Quartet Trust, the ensemble commissions new works and mentors young quartets. Their acclaimed recordings include complete cycles of Beethoven, Bartók, Brahms, and Britten. Former Ensemble in Residence at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Hall, they perform regularly at major venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Konzerthaus, with upcoming appearances across Europe and Asia.

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