The three European quartets taking part in the stage of MUSA – European young MUsicians soft Skills Alliance in France have been selected! They will be in residence at La Ferme de Villefavard en Limousin from Aprile 30th to May 7th, 2022: a week of workshops, concerts and artistic residence curated by ProQuartet and La Ferme del Villefavard dedicated to registration and distribution of music, and to mental and physical preparation.
Here, the names of the quartets selected
ALINEA QUARTET
GERMANY
Fanny Anaïs Schell, violin
Mario Sögtrop, violin
Raphael Maria Schönball, viola
David Fuchs, cello
In typography, the “Alinea” symbol means the beginning of a new thought. In a more literal sense, it also means the deviation from the norm and the established standard.
The young Alinea string quartet, founded in 2019, has set out to break away from the norms of both how and where to perform the great quartet repertoire. The four musicians, based in Munich in Germany, aim to give concerts not only in traditional venues, but also in places as diverse as parishes, schools, and retirement homes. Whenever possible, their concerts do not have a fixed price of admission – instead, anyone can choose to donate as much as they feel they can give.
BELINFANTE QUARTET
THE NETHERLANDS
Olivia Scheepers, violin
Fiona Robertson, violin
Sophie Vroegop, viola
Pau Marquès i Oleo, cello
The Belinfante Quartet was formed in 2016 and is currently Quartet in Residence at the Netherlands String Quartet Academy in Amsterdam. They have performed at festivals throughout Europe including the Strijkkwartet Biënnale in Amsterdam, the Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht and the Tiberius Festival in Romania. Recent engagements include a performance in the Spiegelzaal of the Concertgebouw. During the Delft Fringe Festival 2019, they collaborated with visual artist Jordi Cárdenas Lozano to create a performance in which music of Léos Janácek was accompanied by poetic and abstract slide projections, thanks to which they have won the Delft Chamber Music Festival Award 2019. The quartet’s name honors Frieda Belinfante, a cellist and the first professional female conductor in Europe.
OUTIS QUARTET
ROMANIA
David Ursei, violin
Francisco Ramonda, violin
Mihai Todoran, viola
Victor Sandu, cello
The Outis Quartet was founded in 2019 at the National Music University of Bucharest by four colleagues with the desire to discover, study and play music together. The ensemble likes exploring a wide range of repertoires and sonorities, in non-conventional venues. Since the beginning of its activity, the quartet has received mentoring by Dan Prelipcean (Voces Quartet), Abel Tomás (Cuarteto Casals) and Marius Ungureanu (Aalborg Symphony Orchestra). In 2020, it has been chosen as a member of the program for young ensembles organized by Festival Sonoro and has been invited by Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation as an Artist in Residence in Malancrav, Transylvania. The quartet opened the chamber music concert season at the Sutu Palace, Bucharest, invited by Fundatia ACCUMM and has concert engagements in different Romanian cities for the 2020-2021 season. Furthermore, it is the first Artist in Residence at George Enescu Memorial House in Mihaileni, Romania, invited by the Pro Patrimonio Foundation. The quartet engaged itself in an immersive working process at the composer’s house, after which the Ensemble inaugurated the Concerte pe Siret Festival playing music by Enescu and Belà Bartok, combined with tunes from the Balcanic space and a new piece composed for the occasion by Victor Sandu. The Outis Quartet has been taken part in the Académie Ravel, during the Ravel Festival 2021 in Saint-Jean de Luz, France, with the internationally renowned Quatuor Diotima as their artistic tutor.
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