Project and team

Project

Quatuors à Bordeaux is the great annual meeting place for amateurs and professionals of the string quartet. A festival organised every spring gives way, once every three years, to the prestigious International String Quartet Competition.

Quatuors à Bordeaux places young artists at the heart of its commitment, paying particular attention to the transmission (of knowledge and repertoire) as much as to the detection of the greatest talents of tomorrow.

High standards and openness are the two key words that guide this project:

Artistic excellence is evident in the selection of candidates, in the composition of the jury, in the venues and in the partnerships set up.
Openness is a fundamental principle to ensure that the universal music of the string quartet and its immensely rich repertoire are accessible to the greatest number of people: openness to a variety of audiences, openness to places that are both classical and atypical, openness to different musical forms and genres, and finally openness to other artistic forms and disciplines.

The festival

Every year, it welcomes some of the most prestigious French and international string quartets for exceptional concerts.

The festival also offers conferences and screenings which are as many times of enrichment and exchanges. We hope that these moments will provide keys to understanding, to approach the string quartet from different angles, to evoke its links with other artistic disciplines, but also and above all to discover the richness of the repertoire for which all the great composers have written.

Finally, the festival is a time for pedagogy and work. Four of the most promising young quartets are invited to benefit from a specific accompaniment programme that meets the needs of young musicians at a pivotal moment in their careers, between the end of their studies and the beginning of their professional life. In addition to master classes (often public) with several great musicians, they benefit from the expertise of several speakers (including musicologist Jean-Michel MOLKHOU, physiotherapist and posturologist Antoine ZANGUI). The young artists are thus made aware of essential subjects (building up one’s repertoire, respecting the right postures, finding an instrument…) but too often neglected by traditional courses which focus above all on practice.

The four young guest quartets perform in concert during the festival.

The International String Quartet Competition

The Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition is one of the most renowned international competitions. Since its creation in 1999, the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition has established itself as an ideal springboard for young musicians at the dawn of an international career. The competition sees itself above all as a link between these young virtuosos and the greatest musical scenes.

The competition seeks to reward artists who are complete and capable of making a mark on the future. Its high standards are based both on a prestigious jury, an international level of funding and extensive media coverage, as well as on the warm and friendly welcome of the organising team and the people of Bordeaux. The competition takes place entirely at the Bordeaux Auditorium, thanks to the close partnership set up with the Bordeaux National Opera.

The team

Art direction

The Modigliani Quartet is one of the most renowned classical music ensembles in France and abroad.

It plays every year in the most emblematic halls in the world such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées…

From 2020, he will be the artistic director of Quatuors in Bordeaux. Its members previously created the Festival of Saint-Paul de Vence in 2011 and relaunched the Rencontres Musicales d’Evian in 2014. They are also artistic directors of the Arcachon Chamber Music Festival.

Direction

Julien Kieffer, adopted from Bordeaux nearly 20 years ago, has been the quartet’s accomplice since its creation. He has been the new director of Quatuors à Bordeaux since 2020.

He has also been the director of the Saint-Paul de Vence Music Festival since 2013. He is also the artistic director of the “Classique au Vert” Festival at the Parc Floral de Paris since 2019, and also coordinates the Arcachon Chamber Music Festival.

Chantal MARTIN-PARDIGON collaborates closely with the work of the management as General Delegate of Quatuors in Bordeaux.

Board of directors of the association Quatuors à Bordeaux :

Co – President : Élisabeth VIGNÉ
Co – President : François HENROT
Vice Présidents : Jean François MOUEIX et Antoine TCHEKHOFF
Secretary General : Bernard LUMMEAUX
Treasurer : Charles CHEVALLIER
Members : Pierre-Marie CHAUVIN, Thierry FOUQUET, Alain MEUNIER, Alain PICHON et Daniel PICOTIN