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Founded by graduates of the Paris and Lyon conservatoires, the quartet takes its name from Luigi Nono's Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima, thus affirming its commitment to the music of our time.
The Diotima Quartet is a favoured partner of many composers (including Helmut Lachenmann, Pierre Boulez, Brian Ferneyhough, and Toshio Hosokawa), and regularly commissions new pieces from such composers as Alberto Posadas, Gérard Pesson, Emmanuel Nunes, James Dillon, Oskar Bianchi, and Miroslav Srnka. But it by no means neglects the classic string quartet repertoire, paying particular attention to the late quartets of Beethoven, French music, and the music of the early twentieth century.
Ever since its formation, the quartet has made international appearances which have taken it to most of the major European festivals and concert series (notably the Philharmonie and Konzerthaus in Berlin, Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, and the Wigmore Hall in London). It has made many tours to the United States, Asia (China, Korea, Japan), Australia, and South America.
The Diotima Quartet has been a prizewinner at several international competitions, including London and Berlin. It regularly receives support from the Institut français, Spedidam, and Musique Nouvelle en Liberté. It is also supported by the DRAC and Région Centre for its presence in the Central Region of France.
The quartet's first recording (Lachenmann/Nono) was awarded the Coup de Cœur of the Académie Charles Cros and a Diapason d'Or of the Year 2004 in the "Discovery" category. Its discography includes the two Janácek quartets (Diapason d'Or 2008), the quartets of Lucien Durosoir (Choc du Monde de la Musique), Schoenberg's Concerto for Quartet and Orchestra (on mdr Leipzig), Alberto Posadas's cycle Liturgia Fractal (on Kairos, winner of a Diapason d'Or), the complete works for quartet of Toshio Hosokawa (Neos), a programme of music by Chaya Czernowin (Wergo), and an album with Thomas Larcher (ECM).
The Diotima Quartet now records exclusively for Naïve. Its disc of quartets by Onslow was a great success with the critics (Diapason d'Or, Événement du mois de Diapason, Excepcional de Scherzo). It was followed by a second release devoted to Berg, Schoenberg and Webern, with the participation of Sandrine Piau and Marie-Nicole Lemieux.
Source: www.naive.fr