Quatuor Hanson

Biography

The Quatuor Hanson was founded in Paris in 2013. Since then, the four musicians have devoted their efforts to exploring the enormously rich repertoire composed for string quartet and to realising the essential and inexhaustible possibilities, both musical and personal, offered by this musical formation.

The quartet’s first recording, released by the Aparté label in 2019, was a double album devoted to the music of Joseph Haydn. This composer, the cornerstone of the string quartet repertoire, has been a constant companion and guide since the members made their debut. The inventiveness of his music is a constantly renewed source of inspiration to them, and the double CD takes the form of an eclectic portrait illustrating Haydn’s modernity and the diversity of his quartets. This first release received several major awards, including a Diapason d’Or of the Year (Diapason), CHOC de Classica and a Qobuzissime award, and was selected by France Musique as well as being highly acclaimed by the International musical press (The Strad, Ongaku Geijutsu, The Classic Review, etc.).

‘Not all cats are grey’, the quartet’s second release, explores nocturnal music of the twentieth century. This critically praised album displays a total contrast with the Classical period and confirms the group’s eclecticism. The Quatuor Hanson champions the idea that so-called contemporary music is extremely diverse, full of contrasts and life, and deserves to be discovered and listened to without preconceptions.

The Quatuor Hanson has forged a distinct musical identity embracing a wide spectrum of musical horizons and has worked with internationally recognised Austrian mentors such as Hatto Beyerle and Johannes Meissl as well as with distinguished representatives of the French school of chamber music, including the Ébène and Ysaÿe quartets. Its members are also passionately engaged with contemporary composers such as Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm and Matthias Pintscher, whose Figura IV they gave its French premiere at the Ircam Festival. The quartet has also recorded a live performance from the Deauville Festival of George Crumb’s electric quartet Black Angels which was released on B. Records in 2022. This project was named BBC Music Magazine Choice and voted one of the best contemporary music recordings of the year in the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik awards. The Quatuor Hanson enjoys sparking off anachronistic encounters between composers of differing periods in its concert programmes, with aim of shedding a new and unexpected light on the individual works.

The quartet has won a number of international prizes, notably at the Geneva Competition, the Joseph Haydn Competition in Vienna and the Lyon Chamber Music Competition. It receives support from the Fondation Singer-Polignac, where the musicians are currently in residence, and the Fondation Cordes Sensibles (Fondation de France); they are also lauréats of the Fondation Banque Populaire.

The Quatuor Hanson pursues an international career, performing in such prestigious venues as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Auditorium du Louvre, the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the ORF Radiokulturhaus in Vienna and the Auditori in Barcelona, in addition to touring Asia regularly. It is also invited to appear at leading festivals including Deauville and La Folle Journée de Nantes, where the enriching experience of exchanging with other musicians plays a key role in its members’ artistic development.

quatuorhanson.com