Magdalena Geka, violin
Elise De-Bendelac, violin
Perrine Guillemot, viola
Lucie Mercat, cello
The Akilone Quartet is the fruit of a musical and human adventure that began in Paris in 2011. Mainly guided by Hatto Beyerle, Vladimir Mendelssohn and now Patrick Jüdt, the four musicians won the First Grand Prize and the ProQuartet Prize at the 8th Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2016.
Internationally renowned, the Quatuor Akilone has performed in the most prestigious venues in France and abroad: Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya, Wigmore Hall in London, Philharmonie de Paris, Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, Liszt Academy in Budapest…
Anchored in its time, the Akilone Quartet also turns to creation. It is the dedicatee of the work by composer Xu Yi : Aquilone Lontano, inspired by the Quartet’s name – “the kite” in Italian – and premiered at the Philharmonie de Paris in 2018. In 2023, he premiered Andris Dzenītis’s 4th Quartet in Latvia, and in his quest for experimentation, he undertook a creolization called Parastiches with Jérôme Désigaud around microtonality and polytempi, accompanied by Albi’s GMEA and the Maison de la Musique Contemporaine. In 2023, the Quartet travels to the Czech Republic in the footsteps of Dvořák, to accompany their CD “Deep in the Forest”, based on the work of Dvořák, with a podcast produced by Tristan Labouret and Samuel Débias.
Musically committed, the Quatuor Akilone has always felt the need to share music with all audiences, especially those far removed from concert halls (prisoners, refugees, children, people with disabilities or in precarious circumstances, etc.). This fundamental approach is nurtured by loyal collaborations with Les Concerts de Poche and Musethica.
Equally sensitive to the environmental issues of our time, the Quartet is a member of the ARVIVA network and ambassador for the Planet range from Chevalets Despiau. Since 2022, it has been in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac (Paris).
As an extension of its commitments, the Quatuor Akilone has also been building up a local base in Occitanie over the past few years, notably via the Gresinhòl festival, based in the Grésigne forest in the Tarn region.
Magdalēna Geka, First Violin, plays an Alessandro Gagliano 1734 generously donated by the Anima Music Foundation.
