String Quartet

L’ODYSSÉE FRANK MARTIN – Face à face

Frank Martin String Quartet (1967)
Igor Stravinsky Three pieces for String Quartet
Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F major

Two composers. One string quartet apiece. Maurice Ravel and Frank Martin come face to face in this meeting of masterpieces brought to us by the acclaimed Terpsycordes Quartet. Igor Stravinsky’s Three Pieces mediate the encounter.
Maurice Ravel and Frank Martin: two composers who have little in common except that each composed a single string quartet. Both may be hailed as masterpieces, but Ravel’s quartet (1903) continues to be played in venues over the world, while Martin’s (1967) is rarely performed today. Terpsycordes Quartet unites these two composers as it celebrates the release of the quartet’s new album (Claves Records, 2024), which invites us to rediscover the allure of Martin’s quartet.
Ravel’s rhythmic effusion contrasts with Martin’s more austere style and yet both works succeed in casting the same melodic spell. The programme is completed by Igor Stravinsky’s short but commanding Three Pieces, dedicated to the Swiss conductor and musicologist Ernest Ansermet, who was born in Vevey, but made Geneva his home.

photo: Quatuor Terpsycordes © Nicolas Dupraz

This concert is part of L’Odyssée Frank Martin.