The Quatuor Modigliani's Journey to Leading the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition

Tune in from May 19-25, 2025 to watch the full competition on The Violin Channel

 

Created in 1999, the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition is organized every three years by the Quatuors à Bordeaux association,

Open to string quartets of every nationality, the Competition’s 11th edition will be held from May 19–25, 2025, at the Auditorium of the Bordeaux Opera. Click here to see the ten quartets that will be competing in this year's competition.

The Violin Channel recently talked with the Quatuor Modigliani, artistic directors of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, to learn more!

 

Can you tell us about your quartet's background? 

We met at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris as students. This shared passion for the string quartet, plus our friendship, allowed us to embrace this commitment to life as a quartet, which we knew would be a long and difficult journey, but so rich musically, humanly, and spiritually.

 

Which ensembles and artists have had the greatest impact on you, and what did you learn from them?

Meeting the Ysaÿe Quartet was a decisive moment for us because, from our earliest years, we had the opportunity to work with them as if we were in a laboratory.

Also, the Artemis Quartet, from the beginning, was a decisive encounter for us. Seeing this young quartet interpret music with such perfection and respect for the text without losing their rich personality gave us even more hope.

 

Do you have favorite repertoire to play, and why?

We have been playing the French repertoire, which is frequently requested, quite early on. This season, to celebrate his birthday, we will be performing Ravel's quartet several times.

A few years ago, we also presented many of Schubert's works (a complete set on disc, as well as the octet).

Today, we are focusing on Beethoven's quartets, of which we are recording the first cycle of Opus 18.

 

What elements do you consider most important in the longevity of a string quartet?

It's important to be attentive and listen, both musically and personally.
We're not the same people we were 20 years ago; our life plans may evolve, and it's important to continue building a shared vision in which everyone can relate. This includes, for example, choosing repertoire, concert frequencies, teaching, and organizing events like the Bordeaux competition.

 

What role have competitions played in your career?

Preparing for a competition remains a very important moment in the life of a quartet. Often, the works a quartet has in its repertoire before entering a competition aren't broad enough for what the competition requires. It therefore needs to assemble a very diverse repertoire in a very short time, and it's at this point that the quartet's cohesion and intelligence make the difference.

A competition allows audiences, organizers, and managers to discover musicians they would never have heard without the competition. These artists often come from far and wide, and we know that each country has its unique music market, and what better way to enter it than through a competition!

The most important competition we've participated in was the Young Concert Artist auditions in New York. It allowed us to discover this incredible country and meet our future agent. We've been touring there once a year since that day in 2006.

 

What are you looking for in a winner of this year's competition?

The high-flying jury we have selected will be very sensitive to the quartet, which will be able to adapt its playing style according to the composer. Pieces from different periods will follow one another in a very short amount of time and cannot be played in the same way, so the quartet must be as stylistically faithful as possible.

 

What advice would you give to the ensembles performing at the competition in May?

A jury expects technical perfection in a competition, and this is why competitions are extremely difficult. The best advice we can give to young artists, especially quartets, would be to never lose their personality and vision of the work, all under the pretext of trying to be technically perfect.

 

 

Founded in 2003, the Modigliani Quartet annually tours in the United States and in Asia, and the quartet’s numerous European tours have brought them to Wigmore Hall, the Paris Philharmonie, the Théâtre des Champs- Elysées, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Saint-Petersburg Philharmonia, and the Elbphil-harmonie in Hamburg.

After reviving the Rencontres Musicales Evian in 2014, of which they assured the artistic direction for 8 years, the quartet was entrusted with the artistic direction of the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2020. The quartet is also the founder of the Saint-Paul-de-Vence Festival and the Arcachon Chamber Music Festival, both created in 2011.

The Modigliani Quartet’s rich collaboration with the record label Mirare has led to 15 recordings representative of their vast repertoire.

The Modigliani Quartet also performs and commissions a wide range of contemporary works from composers including Marc-Antony Turnage, Philippe Hersant, Peter Vasks, Kaija Saariaho, and Evgeny Kissin.

A year after their founding, the Modigliani Quartet won three First Prizes successively at the Eindhoven International Competition (2004), the Vittorio Rimbotti in Florence (2005), and the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York (2006). Following studies with the Ysaÿe Quartet and masterclasses with Walter Levin and Gyorgy Kurtag, the Modigliani Quartet was invited to work with the Artemis Quartet at the Berlin Universität der Künste.