Adrien Jurkovic – violin
Thomas Descamps – violin
Raphaël Pagnon – viola
Simon Iachemet – cello
Formed in 2016, the Quatuor Agate derives its name from one of the most beautiful chamber music pieces, Johannes Brahms’s Second Sextet, dedicated to his second love, Agathe von Siebold. Seven years later, this fascination with Brahms materialized with the release of their debut album in February 2024, featuring the complete String Quartets under the Appassionato Records label.
A few weeks after the quartet’s inception, they embarked on their first venture—the creation of the CorsiClassic festival, an annual event in Ajaccio, Corsica. The festival’s mission is to bring chamber music to diverse audiences.
Distinguished in various international competitions and festivals for several years (including the Best Contemporary Interpretation Prize at the BANFF International String Quartet Competition 2022, Audience Prize at the Steels-Wilsing Competition 2020, and at the Verbier Festival in 2019. The Quatuor Agate achieved a significant milestone in 2021 by winning the prestigious auditions of the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in London.
A highlight of 2023 saw them named ECHO Rising Stars, embarking on a tour of Europe’s major concert halls for the 24/25 season.
From 2021 to 2023, they made their debut at renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Prinzregententheater in Munich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Dortmund, TauberPhilharmonie in Weikersheim and Brucknerhaus Linz. They also participated in festivals such as the Verbier Festival, Festival de Salon-de-Provence, Festival de Radio France, Britten-Pears Arts in Aldeburgh, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Lammermuir Festival (Scotland), among others.
Over the 23/24 season, the Quatuor Agate tours globally, traveling to destinations such as the United Kingdom, Colombia, and Hawaii. They will make their debut at the Philharmonie de Paris, Heidelberger Frühling, and return to Wigmore Hall, Lammermuir Festival, and Leverkusen stART Festival.
The quartet regularly collaborates with esteemed musicians and ensembles, including Emmanuel Pahud, Enrico Pace, Éric Le Sage, Frank Braley, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Marc Danel, Gabriel Le Magadure, Pierre Fouchenneret, the Kronos Quartet, the Quatuor Ebène, the Quatuor Modigliani, and the Jerusalem Quartet.
They are set to release a recording with Frank Braley and Gabriel Le Magadure featuring Concert de Chausson for the Appassionato Records label in April 2024. They have also recorded an album with American tenor Eric Ferring in Chicago for the Delos label, scheduled for release in the fall of 2023.
Currently, the quartet is an Artist-in -residence at the Fondation Singer Polignac, a Grand Resident of ProQuartet in Paris, and an Associate Artist at the La Brèche Festival.
The Agates receive support from the Günther-Caspar Stiftung and the Fondation Banque Populaire. The quartet has studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Eberhard Feltz, in Paris under the direction of Mathieu Herzog, and with the Quatuor Ebène at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich.
Adrien Jurkovic performs on a violin attributed to Giuseppe Giovanni Guarneri, generously loaned by Dr. Hauber.
Zoltán Kodály: Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7
Florian Donderer (violin), Victor Julien-Laferrière (cello)
Erzsébet Szőnyi: Five Preludes
Nikita Khnykin (piano)
Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody no. 12 in C-sharp minor, S.244/12
Nikita Khnykin (piano)
György Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1 "Métamorphoses nocturnes"
Quatuor Agate
Franz Schubert: Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, D.714
Norwegian Soloists' Choir (male voices), Grete Pedersen (conductor), Antoine Tamestit, Raphaël Pagnon (violas), Victor Julien-Laferrière, Simon Iachemet (cellos), Christian Henriksen (double bass)
Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 6 in D minor, Sz. 114
Quatuor Agate
INTERVAL
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, K. 581
Wenzel Fuchs (clarinet), Quatuor Agate
Johann Sebastian Bach / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio & Fugue in G minor
Florian Donderer (violin), Raphaël Pagnon (viola), Victor Julien-Laferrière (cello)
Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
Victor Julien-Laferrière (cello)
INTERVAL
Johann Sebastian Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in D minor, BWV 1059 (reconstruction by Masato Suzuki)
Masato Suzuki (harpsichord), baroque ensemble
Johann Sebastian Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 3 in D major, BWV 1054
Masato Suzuki (harpsichord), baroque ensemble
György Ligeti: Continuum
Masato Suzuki (harpsichord)
György Ligeti: Hungarian Rock
Masato Suzuki (harpsichord)
Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer: Solo for Voice
Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer (voice)
Edvard Grieg/Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer: In The Hall of the Mountain King
Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer (voice), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
Ernő Dohnányi: Sextet in C major, Op. 37
Florian Donderer (violin), Raphaël Pagnon (viola), Victor Julien-Laferrière (cello), Nikita Khnykin (piano), Wenzel Fuchs (clarinet), Ragnhild Lothe (horn)
