Mendelssohn, Ravel, Sollima Quatuor Saguenay

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): String Quartet In E Minor, Op.44, No.2, MWV R26:
• 1 Mendelssohn: String Quartet In E Minor, Op.44, No.2, MWV R26: I. Allegro assai appassionato 10:23
• 2 Mendelssohn: String Quartet In E Minor, Op.44, No.2, MWV R26: II. Scherzo. Allegro di molto 04:03
• 3 Mendelssohn: String Quartet In E Minor, Op.44, No.2, MWV R26: III. Andante 06:40
• 4 Mendelssohn: String Quartet In E Minor, Op.44, No.2, MWV R26: IV. Presto agitato 06:40
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): String Quartet in F Major, M. 35:
• 5 Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35: I. Allegro moderato 08:25
• 6 Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35: II. Assez vif 06:24
• 7 Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35: III. Très lent 08:28
• 8 Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35: IV. Vif et agité 05:07
• Giovanni Sollima (b. 1962): Viaggio in Italia:
• 9 Sollima: Viaggio in Italia: I. Federico II 08:19
• Total Runtime 01:04:29

Info for Mendelssohn, Ravel, Sollima

Recording a new album is always an extraordinary adventure. An adventure that we, as a quartet, have faced with enthusiasm time and again over a 33-year career. Over those years the quartet has evolved. Our name was changed after 28 years (initially Quatuor Alcan) and our sound has evolved with small changes in personal, not withstanding a solid core that has remained the same for almost 30 years consisting of Nathalie Camus (second violin), Luc Beauchemin (viola) and David Ellis (cello). What has not changed is the quartet’s deep desire for excellence, sincerity and genuineness that have given us our distinctive character since our beginnings. This recording is our first with Marie Bégin as first violin. Amazingly, Marie is younger than Quatuor Saguenay itself! She brings to this project a freshness and a colour that particularly befits the quartets of Mendelssohn and Ravel, as the two composers penned them when they were close to Bégin’s present age (at 27 and 28, respectively).

Born after the quartet’s founding, Marie brings a freshness and colour to this album that is particularly well suited to the quartets of Mendelssohn and Ravel, who were in their late twenties when they composed these works. This recording also includes Federico II, the folk-inspired first movement from Giovanni Sollima’s 2000 cycle, “Viaggio in Italia.”

Quatuor Saguenay:
Marie Bégin, first violin
Nathalie Camus, second violin
Luc Beauchemin, viola
David Ellis, cello

The Quatuor Saguenay
composed of violinists Marie Bégin and Nathalie Camus, violist Luc Beauchemin, and cellist David Ellis, has developed a reputation for excellence throughout Canada and internationally. The quartet’s originality, contagious enthusiasm, unique sonority, and remarkable cohesion have all contributed to its long-term success, both on stage and in recording. The four instrumentalists are also the first chairs of their respective sections of l’Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

Since its formation (1989), the quartet has been based in Saguenay, Quebec. Thanks to a financial agreement between the orchestra and the town of Saguenay.in 2017, the Alcan Quartet is now known as the Saguenay Quartet.

Celebrating thirty years of performing in 2019, the ensemble’s list of accomplishments is impressive: over 1,500 concerts in Europe, Asia, and North America; more than a hundred radio broadcasts (Société Radio-Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Public Broadcasting System (USA), Radio France, etc.); numerous appearances on television; twenty five albums; and a number of commissioned pieces.

The extensive discography of the Quatuor Saguenay (recorded under the name "Alcan Quartet") includes major works from the string quartet repertoire, such as those of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Dvorak, Debussy, and Borodin. In 2015, the complete Beethoven quartets were added to the collection. These recordings have received adulatory reviews in the United States and Europe. The quartet won the Opus Award, Recording of the Year, for its album devoted to Schubert’s quartets, as well as a Félix Award in 2011 for Mathieu — Trio & Quintet, together with Alain and David Lefèvre.

The quartet is regularly invited to teach at universities, conservatories, and summer academies in Quebec and elsewhere. The quartet’s involvement with young people of the area is an invaluable contribution for the Saguenay Conservatory of Music, the SLSJ Youth Orchestra, music schools, and Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean public schools. All four members also play an active role in many other cultural organizations in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean.

The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) and the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) contribute to making this prestigious ensemble known throughout Quebec, Canada, and throughout the world. ​

The members of the Saguenay Quartet play on wonderful instruments from the famous French maker Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) and on bows graciously loaned by CANIMEX INC.

Booklet for Mendelssohn, Ravel, Sollima