VC ARTIST
Violinist Agate Quartet
Formed in 2016, the Paris-based Quatuor Agate studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Eberhard Feltz and in Paris under the guidance of Mathieu Herzog, and with the Quatuor Ebène at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich.
"A perfectly-matched ensemble of genuine interpreters. The Quatuor Agate emanates grit, intensity, evocation, imagination, and sheer infectious energy."
-The Violin Channel
Comprising violinists Adrien Jurkovic and Thomas Descamps, violist Raphaël Pagnon, and cellist Simon Iachemet, the quartet were finalists at the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and received the award for the best performance of the newly commissioned quartet by Dinuk Wijeratne.
In 2021, the Quatuor Agate were prize-winners at the prestigious YCAT International Auditions. Other recent highlights include debut recitals at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall Alte Oper Frankfurt, and a tour across the UK including recitals at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Brucknerhaus Linz, TauberPhilharmonie Weikersheim, the Verbier, Salon-de-Provence, Radio France and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festivals.
The quartet are currently artists-in-residence at the Fondation Singer Polignac, resident at ProQuartet in Paris and Associate Artist at the Festival La Brèche in Savoie (France). They collaborate on a regular basis with Frank Braley, Romain Guyot, Marc Danel, Enrico Pace, Gabriel Le Magadure, Pierre Fouchenneret, the Quatuor Ebène, the Modigliani Quartet, and the Jerusalem Quartet.
They have performed at Verbier Festival Academy, the Montreal International String Quartet Academy (MISQA), the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy, “Musique à Flaine” and the “Spring International Chamber Music Course Hanns Eisler” with acclaimed teachers such as Günter Pichler, Gerhard Schulz, Valentin Erben, Sir András Schiff, Tabea Zimmerman, Christoph Poppen, the Ysaye, the Talich and the Vogler Quartets.
In 2016, the Quatuor Agate created the CorsiClassic Festival. Based around Ajaccio in Corsica, its mission is to promote chamber music in areas of the island where classical music is rarely available.
In 2023, the quartet will record the complete Brahms Quartets for the Naïve label.
