english_biograph

This story stems first and foremost from a passion for chamber music. It led four musicians,who met at the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, to approach the string quartet repertoire. The first concerts in 1998 already showed the audience the speed at which the members found the cohesion and complicity displayed on stage and which brings them together. One of their most prized projects is the exploration of the superb quartets of Schumann, another enthusiast. The name Florestan is a reference to the composer. Schumann described himself as a combination of two personalities: one dreamy and nostalgic, which he named Eusebius, and the other, lively, dynamic and joyful, which he named Florestan. This is the name chosen by the quartet even if they are also charmed by the "Eusebius" side of the great German composer.

From the time of their studies, whether in ensembles or individually, the members of the Quatuor Florestan enjoyed the teachings of prominent figures of chamber music: Corrado Romano, Patrick Genêt (from the Quatuor Sine Nomine), Bruno Pasquier, François Guye, as well as Arpad Gérecz or Gábor Takács. But the Quatuor Florestan also developed their musical maturity through their work with some greatly admired conductors of the orchestras they were members of. This is sometimes a shared regard: after a Quatuor Florestan concert dedicated to works of Berg and Zemlisky, Amin Jordan congratulated the musicians for their "delicate and never strained sonority".

Greatly encouraged by its forebears, the Quatuor de Genève, the Quatuor Florestan found its own place in the musical world of French-speaking Switzerland. For instance, they have played for the Summer Concerts of the City of Geneva, the Festival Amadeus, the Grand-Théatre de Genève (2002 et 2005) in a very ecletic repertoire, from Haydn to Schnittke. Concerts were broadcast by the Radio Suisse Romande and France Musiques.

A first CD, joining Mendelssohn and - of course - Schumann, will be out in november 2004, under label VDE-Gallo.

FLORESTAN Quartett