Van Kuijk Quartet

Program

Formed in 2012, the Van Kuijk Quartet won first prize at the Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition in 2015. Resident at ProQuartet in Paris, they have studied with members of renowned ensembles including the Alban Berg, Artemis, and Hagen Quartets. The Van Kuijk Quartet has quickly established an international reputation with concerts in London, Paris, Verbier, and at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival. For their recording of quartets by Mozart for the Alpha label, The Guardian wrote: “All four players contribute to the extensive color palette, precise blending and, where apt, the sense of fun that makes these well-judged, serious performances so vivid.” Their program also includes Debussy’s only String Quartet, as well as some works by Mozart.

PROGRAM:

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
Divertimento in D Major, K. 136/125a
     Allegro
     Andante
     Presto

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
     Animé et très décidé
     Assez vif et bien rythmé
     Andantino, doucement expressif
     Très modéré

INTERMISSION

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465
     Adagio — Allegro
     Andante cantabile
     Menuetto and Trio. Allegro
     Allegro

Please note that this concert takes place at the Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Dress Code at the Cosmos Club:

Gentlemen are expected to wear jackets, dress slacks, a collared long-sleeved shirt (tucked-in) or turtleneck at all times.

Ladies are expected to dress in an equivalent fashion, which means dresses, suits, skirts or dress slacks with jackets or tops of equivalent formality. Leggings or tights, unless worn with skirts, dresses, or long jackets, are not considered to be of equivalent formality.

Military uniforms and national dress of equivalent formality are also acceptable.

Sweat suits or other athletic or sports attire, jeans or other denim garments, sneakers, flip-flops, athletic footwear and shorts are never acceptable in the public rooms.

About the Artists

Nicolas Van Kuijk, Violin
Sylvain Favre Bulle, Violin
Emmanuel François, Viola
François Robin, Cello

Currently BBC New Generation Artists, the Van Kuijk Quartet’s international accolades boast First, Best Beethoven and Best Haydn Prizes at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet competition, First Prize and an Audience Award at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition, as well as laureates of the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy. Furthermore, they will join the ECHO Rising Stars roster for the 2017/2018 season.

Since their formation in 2012, the ensemble has become an established presence at major international venues, including Wigmore Hall in London, Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Tonhalle in Zurich, Musikverein in Vienna, Berliner Philharmonie, Tivoli Concert Series in Denmark, Sage Gateshead, and at festivals in Cheltenham, Heidelberg, Lockenhaus, Davos, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier/Radio France, Evian, Auvers-sur-Oise, Stavanger (Norway), Concentus Moraviae (Czech Republic), Haydn/Esterházy in Fertod (Hungary), Eilat (Israel), and Canberra (Australia). This season saw the quartet make their debut in Hong Kong, Australia, and Taiwan. They are also scheduled to return to North America this Fall for appearances at The Frick Collection in New York, The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and Salle Bourgie in Montreal.

The Quartet records exclusively for Alpha Classics. Their debut recording, Mozart, was released to critical acclaim in Fall 2016, and will be followed by a recording of French music to be released in late 2017.

The Van Kuijk Quartet is in residence at Proquartet, Paris, where they study with members of the Alban Berg, Artemis, and Hagen quartets. Having taken their first steps as students of the Ysaye Quartet, the young musicians have worked with Günter Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Mùsica Reina Sofia in Madrid; having been supported generously by the International Institute of Chamber Music of Madrid.

The quartet also participates in international academies; at the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, with Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet and André Roy; at the Weikersheim International Chamber Music Course with the Vogler Quartet and Heime Müller, formerly of the Artemis Quartet, as well as the renowned academies in both Verbier and Aix-en-Provence. Mécénat Musical Société Générale is the Van Kuijk’s main sponsor.

Watch & Listen

Watch & Listen