| ADDING A NEW CHAPTER TO BOULEZ’S WORK IN PROGRESS |
| Quatuor Diotima celebrates Pierre Boulez’s centenary with a recording of his Livre pour quatuor, containing the world-premiere of the piece’s fourth movement, which the composer conceived in close cooperation with the members of Diotima, and was completed by Philippe Manoury after his death. Other ensembles had tried to persuade Boulez to revive Livre pour quatuor, but it was the Quatuor Diotima in 2010 that ultimately succeeded due to their shared musicianship, knowledge and passion. This recording adds a fascinating chapter to Boulez’s “work in progress”, and is a fitting successor to the quartet’s acclaimed Ligeti recording from 2023. Quatuor Diotima is one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world today, and has worked in close collaboration with several of the greatest composers of the late twentieth century. Reflected in the mirror of today’s music, the quartet projects a new light onto the masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries. The quartet returns to PENTATONE after their acclaimed Metamorphosis Ligeti (2023) and Bruckner & Klose String Quartets (2024), which was awarded a Jahrespreis der Schallplattenkritik. |
| “The hours spent with him [Boulez], at his home or in a restaurant, were privileged moments of exchange not only on the string quartet but also on music in general and life in particular. He told us that he would make sure each of us received, “for Christmas,” a copy of the manuscript of the fourth movement, preserved at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel. He kept his promise: on December 24, 2011, we found the manuscript underneath the Christmas tree!” – Quatuor Diotima |
 Boulez with Quatuor Diotima, Paris 2010. Credit: Gravrand Marion |
| TRACKLIST: Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) Livre pour quatuor (1948-1949, 2017 version, ed. Philippe Manoury) 1 Ia. 4. 42 2 Ib. 2. 57 3 II. 11. 14 4 IIIa. 5. 27 5 IIIb. 3. 46 6 IIIc. 2. 39 7 IV. * 11. 59 8 V. 6. 27 9 VI. 6. 55 * World premiere recording Quatuor Diotima: Yun-Peng Zhao, first violin Léo Marillier, second violin Franck Chevalier, viola Alexis Descharmes, cello |
| CONCERT DATES FEATURING BOULEZ – LIVRE POUR QUATUOR: Mar 22 – Roma Italy Mar 27 – Vienna, Austria May 18 – London – UK June 14 – Saarbrucken, Germany July 09 – Aix en Provence, France |
 Quatuor Diotima.Credit: Jean-Francois Leclercq |
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| ABOUT QUATUOR DIOTIMA |
| The Quatuor Diotima is one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world today; it was formed in 1996 by graduates of the Paris national conservatory (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris).The quartet’s name evokes a double musical significance: Diotima is at once an allegory of German romanticism – Friederich Hölderlin gives the name to the love of his life in his novel Hyperion- and a rallying cry for the music of our time, brandished by Luigi Nono in his composition Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima.The Quatuor Diotima has worked in close collaboration with several of the greatest composers of the late twentieth century, notably Pierre Boulez and Helmut Lachenmann. The quartet regularly commissions new works from the most brilliant composers of our time, including Toshio Hosokawa, Miroslav Srnka, Alberto Posadas, Mauro Lanza, Gérard Pesson, Rebecca Saunders and Tristan Murail.Reflected in the mirror of today’s music, the quartet projects a new light onto the masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries, especially Beethoven, Schubert, the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Berg and Webern), as well as Janáček, Debussy, Ravel and Bartók. |
| ABOUT PENTATONE |
| One of the leading classical music labels in the world, PENTATONE presents a diverse range of world-class artists, and is dedicated to premium quality productions captured in exceptional sound. The label works together with today and tomorrow’s leading artists to provide timeless recordings of core, fringe, and lesser-known repertoire, with its uncompromising attention to the best possible quality in artistry, design and recording technology. |