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AT HOME IN GERMANY, THE ESMÉ QUARTET IS ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND MULTI-FACETED STRING QUARTETS OF ITS GENERATION, WINNING AUDIENCES AND REVIEWERS OVER WITH ITS INFECTIOUS ENERGY AND IMMACULATE ENSEMBLE PLAYING. THIS ENSEMBLE OF FOUR SOUTH KOREAN MUSICIANS WAS THE FIRST ALL-FEMALE STRING QUARTET TO WIN THE FIRST PRIZE AND FOUR SPECIAL PRIZES, INCLUDING THE MOZART AND THE BEETHOVEN PRIZE, AT THE 2018 INTERNATIONAL STRING QUARTET COMPETITION AT LONDON’S WIGMORE HALL.
THIS GREAT SUCCESS IN COMPETITION ALSO PROVED THE SPRINGBOARD FOR WORLDWIDE CONCERT ACTIVITIES, RANGING FROM THE USA TO EUROPE’S GREAT MUSICAL CENTRES AND ALL THE WAY TO ASIA, WHERE THEY WERE CELEBRATED DURING A PRESTIGIOUS RESIDENCY AT SEOUL’S LOTTE CONCERT HALL DURING THE 2021/22 SEASON. FURTHERMORE, CONCERT TOURS HAVE TAKEN THE ESMÉ QUARTET TO FESTIVALS AND CONCERT HALLS SUCH AS THE LUCERNE FESTIVAL, THE VERBIER FESTIVAL, THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN MUSIC FESTIVAL, LONDON’S WIGMORE HALL, FLAGEY IN BRUSSELS, L’AUDITORI IN BARCELONA, TEATRO LA FENICE IN VENICE AND HAMBURG’S ELBPHILHARMONIE. IN THE SUMMER OF 2018, THEY WERE ALSO THE QUARTET IN RESIDENCE AT THE FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE AND APPEARED AT THE MCGILL INTERNATIONAL STRING QUARTET ACADEMY IN MONTREAL.
IN 2019, THE ESMÉ QUARTET BECAME HSBC WINNER OF THE FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE, ALSO TAKING FIRST PRIZE AT THE 55TH POSSEHL MUSIC PRIZE IN LÜBECK. ITS DEBUT CD, FEATURING WORKS BY BEETHOVEN, CHIN AND BRIDGE, WAS RELEASED IN 2020 BY ALPHA CLASSICS.
THE FOUR MUSICIANS STUDIED WITH HEIME MÜLLER (ARTEMIS QUARTET) IN LÜBECK AND WITH OLIVER WILLE (KUSS QUARTET) IN HANOVER. THEY ALSO RECEIVED IMPORTANT ARTISTIC IMPULSES FROM GÜNTER PICHLER (ALBAN BERG QUARTET), ALFRED BRENDEL, EBERHARD FELTZ, ANDRÁS KELLER, CHRISTOPH POPPEN AND JONATHAN BROWN. THE ESMÉ QUARTET, WHOSE NAME IS DERIVED FROM MEDIEVAL FRENCH AND MEANS “BELOVED”, IS CELEBRATED FOR ITS SPELLBINDING DYNAMICS, STYLISTICALLY ASSURED INTERPRETATIONS AND PERFECT ENSEMBLE PLAYING.
