Omer Bouchez, violin
Elise Liu, violin
Lou Yung-Hsin Chang, viola
Yan Levionnois, cello
The Hermes Quartet, in reference to the famous messenger of Greek mythology, draws its musical strength from its role as a bridge between the composer’s text and the audience’s sensibility. The musicians also establish this identity through their travels around the world. The Carnegie Hall in New York, the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Wigmore Hall in London are among the venues that have made the greatest impression on them. The quartet has also performed at major festivals such as the Folles Journées in Nantes and Tokyo, the Radio-France festival in Montpellier, the Easter and Musical August festivals in Deauville, La Roque d’Anthéron, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Mantova Chamber Music festival, the Alizés spring festival in Morocco, Wonderfeel festival…
The original formation of the group was born in 2008 within the walls of the CNSMD of Lyon where they studied with the members of the Ravel Quartet. They were then enriched by such outstanding personalities as the Ysaÿe Quartet, the Artemis Quartet, Eberhard Feltz, and later Alfred Brendel, a great inspiration with whom its members still work regularly today. Open to all repertoires, they regularly share the stage with such outstanding musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Nicholas Angelich, Gregor Sigl, Pavel Kolesnikov, Kim Kashkashian, Anne Gastinel and the Ébène and Auryn Quartets.
The quartet has won numerous first prizes, notably at the Geneva competition and at the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, and is also supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation. It was quartet in residence at the Chapelle Reine Elisabeth in Brussels from 2012 to 2016 and has been an associate quartet at the Fondation Singer-Polignac in Paris since 2019.
Their close and privileged collaboration with the La Dolce Volta label has given rise to their complete Schumann quartets as well as an album devoted to Ravel, Debussy and Dutilleux, both of which have won them multiple press awards. Their latest recording of the Brahms quintet with pianist Geoffroy Couteau won the Choc de l’année 2019 from Classica magazine.
Since 2018, the quartet has broadened its musical horizon and met accordionist Félicien Brut and double bassist Édouard Macarez with whom they decided to create the Pari des Bretelles. They released their first recording for Mirare in 2019.
Elise Liu plays a David Tecchler 1726 violin on loan from the Fonds Instrumental Français.
Since August 2016, Omer Bouchez plays a Joseph Gagliano 1796 violin on loan from Mécénat Musical Société Générale.
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