Embark on a musical odyssey with Quatuor Ébène as they blend classical chamber music with the vibrant tones of Scottish folk. This unique collaboration with Scottish harpist Catriona McKay and fiddler Chris Stout takes audiences on an enchanting journey across prestigious venues in Germany and the USA. Each concert offers a fresh perspective on the intersection of classical and folk music, drawing inspiration from the rugged landscapes of Scotland and the timeless works of Brahms, Beethoven, and Ravel. Join us as we explore this captivating fusion of genres.

Quatuor Ébène: A Harmonious Journey through Classical and Scottish Folk Music

For more than 20 years, the “superb and intensely focused” (The New York Times) Quatuor Ébène has been taking audiences on a remarkable journey of musical discovery. The French ensemble is known for both white-hot intensity and cultivating a striking palette of expressive colors through a fluid, organic sense of blend and balance. In its Cal Performances debut, the group plays Mozart’s ebullient Quartet No. 21 from his Prussian set; Grieg’s lone completed quartet, a work of striking originality and energy; and Schnittke’s kinetic and intense String Quartet No. 3 from 1983. “They appear to have thrown away the semantic rulebook to create fresh, compelling sound worlds from the roots up” (The Strad).

EPSG:4326

Quatuor Ébène

First Congregational Church

In Spring 2020, Quatuor Ébène launched its “Beethoven Around the World” project, recording Beethoven’s 16 string quartets in a worldwide project on six continents. With this complete recording, the four celebrated their 20th stage anniversary, which they then crowned with performances of the complete string quartet cycle in major European venues such as the Philharmonie de Paris and the Alte Oper Frankfurt and invitations from Carnegie Hall, the Verbier Festival, and the Vienna Konzerthaus.

Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

It's a rare ensemble that can play Haydn and Debussy with complete command and then shift gears to offer a jazz set of Miles Davis and Chick Corea with equal authority. But the versatile Ébène Quartet, from Paris, has made that its trademark, adding spice to a traditionally fusty corner of classical music. This complexity of their repertoire has been greeted enthusiastically by audiences and critics and made them one of Europe’s most sought-after ensembles

Ebene Quartet

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Talented Shepherd School students perform short musical excerpts and receive coaching from a distinguished guest in front of a live audience. 

Alice Pratt Brown Hall

Critics have written of Quatuor Ébène performances that it's hard to imagine "playing at once more diverse and more brilliant than this… the possibilities of a string quartet were shown to be boundless" (Bachtrack). "The superb and intensely focused" (New York Times) French ensemble makes its Baltimore Debut with Mozart and Schnittke, and Grief's only complete quartet, one of this most expressive and richly textured works.  

Quatuor Ébène, (Baltimore Debut)

Johns Hopkins University

Over the past two decades, French ensemble Quatuor Ébène has thrilled audiences with performances ranging from the complete Beethoven cycle to forays into Left Bank jazz. The ensemble’s telepathic understanding, artistic daring, and musical individuality make for edge-of-the-seat concert experiences, intensely focused and touched by visionary insights.

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

When Quatuor Ébène performed at Carnegie Hall in 2022, critics described it as hard to imagine “string quartet playing at once more diverse and more brilliant than this … the possibilities of a string quartet were shown to be boundless” (Bachtrack). They return with a late Mozart string quartet written for the king of Prussia—a cellist, as one can surmise upon listening; the third and most succinct of Bartók’s six essential, game-changing quartets; and Grieg’s sole complete work for the genre, a richly textured journey that comprises the second half of the program.

Carnegie Hall

“We need the inspiration of the audience,” said cellist Raphaël Merlin of the esteemed <a>Quatuor Ébène</a>, which returns for its third performance with Coleman. These words were one of the central ideas of the <em>“Beethoven Around the World”</em> project, during which the quartet recorded Beethoven’s 16 string quartets on six continents between May 2019 and January 2020. These recordings were also part of the quartet’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Quatuor Ébène’s albums have received numerous awards, including Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and the Midem Classic Award.

California Institute of Technology

Founded in 1999, the Quatuor Ébène is known for the virtuoso manner in which it straddles styles and genres. For its latest project, the adventurous string quartet has teamed up with two long-time musical friends: the harpist Catriona McKay and the fiddler Chris Stout, both embodying Scottish folk music in its vibrant and multi-faceted contemporary state. The program was developed and inspired by Fair Isle, the smallest, most remote and perhaps most beautiful of the Shetland Islands in Scotland’s high north, where the rugged, rocky landscape has shaped local culture and mentality. Together, the six musicians explore the sonic diversity of Scottish music, clothing existing melodies in new guises due to their typical yet atypical combination of instruments, and enriching it with new compositions of their own – a fascinating musical journey of discovery in which two sound worlds merge in music.

Stout — McKay — Quatuor Ébène

Palais im Großen Garten

The most famous of all string quartets is also celebrating an anniversary at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival—the 20th in fact! It has been an Ensemble Prize winner since 2005. Since then, between performances in Paris, New York, and London, it has regularly visited Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, delighting audiences. This year, the foursome will give free rein to their passion for music, together with two musical friends on fiddle and harp, because the Quatuor Ébène has fallen in love with Scottish folk!

Quatuor Ébène meets fiddle and harp

St. George's Church Parchim

The string quartet – a purely classical-romantic affair? The members of the Quatuor Ébène were never convinced of this. The first jam sessions took place in their university's rehearsal room at the end of the 1990s. And it developed into much more than a bit of a diversion: improvising together on jazz standards and pop songs has become the trademark of the French quartet. Their award-winning recordings of great masterpieces of string quartet literature are now joined by albums that look far beyond the confines of classical music. And the four members of the Quatuor Ébène regularly bring performers from entirely different musical worlds on board. The quartet shares a close artistic friendship with Catriona McKay and Chris Stout. They first met the two Scots in 2012, and since then they have embarked on several joint journeys to the border regions of classical and folk music. In 2025 we will embark on the next exciting excursion.

Quatuor Ébène

Jun 13, 2025

Stout — McKay — Quatuor Ébène

Jun 14, 2025

Quatuor Ébène meets fiddle and harp

Jun 25, 2025

Quatuor Ébène Catriona McKay, Celtic harp Chris Stout, fiddle

Apr 9, 2026

Quatuor Ébène

Apr 16, 2024

Quatuor Ébène

Apr 12, 2024

Quatuor Ébène

Articles & News

Quatuor Ébène