The 11th edition of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition Vibre ! begins in two weeks, and the Modigliani Quartet sat down for an interview to share all the exciting details with you.
What does the Modigliani Quartet have planned for 2025?
This year promises to be a very busy one for our Quartet, starting with the organisation of this year’s string quartet competition in Bordeaux, which marks an important moment in the chamber music world… We’re seeing strong excitement and anticipation from concert organisers both in France and internationally! This season also marks the start of a three-year residency at Radio France. In terms of our recordings, a Tchaikovsky album will be released in autumn, and we are regularly in the studio recording a Beethoven project…
Your concert at the Auditorium de Bordeaux will take place on May 22nd. Can you tell us a little about the programme?
We have chosen to perform Ravel’s quartet, as this year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. We are combining it with a lesser-known piece by Turina, ‘La Oracion del torero’, a little gem that stands apart in the quartet repertoire.
The second half will feature Tchaikovsky’s Third Quartet, composed largely in Paris as a requiem for his friend, the violinist Ferdinand Laub. The third movement Andante funebre e doloroso sublime will be added as well.
What do you think of the selected candidates for this year’s string quartet competition?
The ten selected quartets are all very well balanced. They come from different continents and have varied aesthetic approaches. It will be exciting to discover their interpretative choices!
Each quartet will be given the opportunity to play in a public concert in addition to their performance in the International Competition (which is free and open to the public), regardless of how they fare in the competition.
Could you tell us a few words about the other concerts scheduled during this week?
To open this grand edition and festival, our friends and colleagues from the Quatuor Ébène will give a concert at the Auditorium of the Opéra National de Bordeaux on Saturday 17 May. Another gala concert will also take place at the prestigious Château Cheval Blanc in Saint-Émilion, featuring the international quartet’s ‘dream team’! The prestigious members of the jury will perform a very special programme!
This year, a violin-making workshop will offer visitors the chance to watch a violin being crafted in real time. For the competition’s first prize, you’ve enlisted a renowned bow maker. What about the work of violin and bow makers inspires you, and how do you see the transmission of this craftsmanship in today’s musical world?
During the last edition of the Vibre ! International String Quartet Competition, we asked a group of luthiers to make a viola during the competition.
The workshop was open to all spectators and the encounter between this artistic craftsmanship and the public was a great success. The audience was able to see the precision and attention to detail with which the luthiers worked. They were fascinated by hearing the result of a whole week’s work when the instrument was presented on stage and played in public for the first time!
The violin being crafted this year will also be a technical masterpiece, and the audience will be captivated as they watch the creation of this instrument, starting from the very first shavings of wood!
The quartet of strings we commissioned from bow maker Edwin Clément is a precious gift that we are offering as the first prize. For every violinist, viola player or cellist the bow is an extension of their arm and mind, allowing them to make their instrument sound exactly as they want it to.
Luthiers and bow makers have always strived to ensure that music evolves alongside the vision of composers and the ability of musicians to adapt to the times. We are therefore thrilled to contribute to the preservation and widespread recognition of this craftsmanship.
A work commissioned especially for the final of the Competition will be performed by the quartets this year. How are you approaching the challenge of playing a new work, and how do you view the importance of contemporary music in a string quartet competition?
We believe it is important for all the competing quartets to be able to express themselves in works of different styles, ranging from the classical period to contemporary music.
The composer Kryštof Mařatka responded very favourably to our request to compose a piece especially for the final, entitled Amedea-visage de jeune fille, based on a painting by Modigliani.
We were lucky enough to hear a preview performance with the composer. It is a beautiful piece with delicate tones, which we hope will find its place in the repertoire.
We can’t wait to hear it being played by the finalists!
