The Molinari Quartet and ATMA Classique are proud to present the quartet’s new double CD of the string quartets by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer.

The recording comprises the quartets nos 9 to 12 thus completing the recording of all the Schafer quartets written to date. In addition, Quartet no.8 is  included, having been recorded in 2003 in a recording featuring Beauty and Beast and Theseus.

Following its successful tour of Western Canada and its event “The Quartet According to the Second Viennese School”, the Molinari Quartet is still on the roll!

Three concerts will be presented in April ; on the 12th at 7 pm the Quartet performs at Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; April 19th at 7 pm at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Québec City for the  exhibit “The Plasticiens”and finally on April 30th they will be at the Maison Gilles-Carle Cowansville. See the calendar for all the details.

On January 11^th 2013, the board of administrators of the Molinari Quartet met and proceeded to draw the winning tickets for its three grand prizes. The winners are :

1^st Prize : The Molinari Quartet in your home : Lily Adam

2^nd Prize : A dinner for two at Montreal’s famous gourmet restaurant Le Toqué ! : Michel Bergeron

3^rd Prize : An i-Pad : Olivia Panaccio-Tresham

The Molinari Quartet wishes to thank all the participants and donators who contributed to the success of the fund raising campaign, which reached its goal of 25 000$ .

On Thursday October 11th 2012, the Molinari Quartet held its annual fund raising event in Guido Molinari’s former work studio, now the Molinari Foundation on Ste. Catherine Street East in Montreal. Over 80 people were present to support the Quartet in an evening filled with good wine, gastronomic entrées and a performance by the Molinari Quartet. Shostakovich’s Quartet no.6 was performed as well as excerpts from What a Beauty ! by Denis Gougeon, with the participation of comedian Danièle Panneton.  Thanks to everyone who made this evening a success.

The Molinari Quartet recorded in June R. Murray Schafer’s quartets no.9-10 and 11 at the Saint-Augustin de Mirabel church for ATMA records.  The CD will be completed with Schafer’s quartet no.12 this fall. The new work is a commission from the Molinari Quartet to underline its 15th anniversary and the close ties it has with Schafer since the foundation of the Quartet in 1997. During its 15th Anniversary Heartthrob Concert on May 17th 2013, the quartet no.12 will be premiered and the CD will be launched. Don’t miss this event!

Check the calendar for all the concerts of 2012-13.

It is during its concert at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal on Friday May 25 2012 at 8 pm, that the Molinari Quartet will announce the names of the recipients of its Fifth International Composition Competition for String Quartet. The jury – comprising members of the Molinari Quartet and canadian composers Jean Lesage and Nicolas Gilbert – will deliberate in the next few weeks to evaluate the 100 original scores received from 27 countries.

The Quebec Music Council’s annual Opus Prize Gala was held yesterday afternoon in Montreal. The Molinari Quartet was awarded the Opus Prize for the Concert of the Year 2010-2011 in Montreal for its performance of Dimitri Shostakovich’s last four quartets on November 26 2010.

The prize is accompanied by a 3000$ grant by the Montreal Arts Council.

The Molinari Quartet is proud to announce that it has been chosen as finalist for the 15^th Opus Prize Gala which will be held on January 29 2012 at 3:30 pm at the Bourgie concert hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Four nominations for two prizes!

Concert of the year –Montreal

American Minimalism, October 15 2010

The last four quartets by Shostakovich, November 26 2010

Concert of the year – Modern and contemporary music

American Minimalism, October 15 2010

The last four quartets by Shostakovich, November 26 2010

The Molinari Quartet and ATMA are pleased to announce the release of there latest CD.

The volume 1 of Alfred Schnittke’s chamber music includes the four string quartets as well as the Canon in Memoriam Igor Stravinsky. The CD’s will be available on August 30th in stores and will also be sold on our web site shortly.

The Molinari Quartet has just returned from a short tour in Ontario.  Chamber Music  Hamilton welcomed the Quartet on Sunday May 8^th at the Hillfield Strathallan College Auditorium. The next day, the Molinaris performed for the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. The program for both concerts was comprised of two Canadian works, the Quartet no.2 by Jacques Hétu and Scintilla by Abigail Richardson and two major quartets from the repertoire, Béla Bartok’s Third and Claude Debussy’s Quartet in G.