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Program

Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems - Dinuk Wijeratne (b. 1978)

String Quartet No. 5 - Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)

Intermission

La Jeune Fille - Raphaël Merlin (b. 1982) *** North American Premiere 

String Quartet in E-flat major - Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)

*** This concert will feature the North American premiere of the Quatuor Magenta's first commission, written for them by Raphaël Merlin: brilliant composer, founding cellist of the Quatuor Ébène, and one of the Magentas' most important musical mentors. Merlin's music is imbued with his love of jazz and deep knowledge of the string quartet repertoire, and this new composition is an homage to Winnaretta Singer, a great patron of the arts and sciences in Paris at the turn of the century, and a friend to many composers, including Fauré and Stravinsky.

QUATUOR MAGENTA

Ida Derbesse - violin

Elena Watson-Perry - violin

Claire Pass-Lanneau - viola

Fiona Robson - cello

"A model of technical discipline, elegance and musical excellence" (La Croix, transl.), Quatuor Magenta is a string quartet based in Paris, where its members met at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. With their diverse nationalities and paths through prestigious musical institutions in Canada, the US, the UK and Switzerland, these four musicians have combined into an ensemble praised for its "remarkable balance, flexibility and spontaneity" (Diapason, transl.).

In addition to such world-renowned stages as the Philharmonie de Paris, Festival de RadioFrance Montpellier, and the Banff Centre, Quatuor Magenta brings their generous sound and contagious musical energy to less traditional settings, from prisons to elementary schools to pre-concert chats. Introducing the string quartet repertoire to an ever-expanding and more diverse audience is one of their most important goals. 

While rooted in the tradition of the string quartet, Quatuor Magenta has a particular passion for modern and contemporary music. In 2024 they participated in the Kronos Quartet's "50 for the Future" marathon at the Philharmonie de Paris's String Quartet Biennial, and in 2026 they will premiere a new work written for them by Raphaël Merlin. They are committed to regularly programming music by women composers and continuously explore creative ways to combine familiar masterpieces with lesser-known repertoire, enlivening their concert programs with these unexpected pairings.

Though based in Europe, Quatuor Magenta is also making a name for itself in Canada, home country of its cellist. In spring 2026 they will return for their second Canadian tour, which includes performances in London (ON), Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. 

Quatuor Magenta is junior artist-in-residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation and grand résident at Proquartet - Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre. In 2025 they participated in the Bordeaux and Banff International String Quartet Competitions, earning the Christine and David Anderson Career Development Prize in Banff. They received prizes at the 2023 FNAPEC competition (Académie des Beaux-Arts scholarship) and the 2022 Zukunftsklang Competition Stuttgart (3rd prize), and were finalists of the 8th Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna. Their mentors include the Ébène and Modigliani Quartets, as well as Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartet.

The Quatuor Magenta plays on the "Quatuor de Vougeot", four instruments by Stefan Peter Greiner graciously loaned by the "Musique et vin au Clos Vougeot" instrument bank.

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