Passing of R. Murray Schafer
It’s with deep sorrow that we learn the passing away of our great friend and exceptional composer R. Murray Schafer. He was a great inspiration for us. We keep in our hearts and in our memory the numerous meetings and discussions we had with him over the past 33 years. The great man, composer, writer, visual artist, environmentalist and lecturer was one of the greatest and most complete artists of the 20th century. His music is at the heart of the Molinari Quartet’s repertoire and we will continue to impart his tremendous work. Thank you Murray for your wonderful music. The Molinari Quartet will pay homage to Schafer in a special concert on October 15th.
Intimate concerts are back!
The Molinari Quartet is pleased to announce that its series « Intimate concerts » is back again this summer. The concerts are given in the intimate setting of the Molinari Foundation and respect social distancing and the government directives. A first program will be given 4 times, on July 3 and 4 at 10:30 am and 1pm at the Molinari Foundation, 3290 Ste. Catherine street East, Montréal. Come celebrate the summer vacations with the children with the concert « Les Fables », during which Catherine Perrin will narrate ten fables from Jean de La Fontaine and play harpsichord accompanied by the Molinari Quartet. The music for quartet and harpsichord is by Quebec composer Denis Gougeon and by Jean-Philippe Rameau. The Molinari Quartet will also perform Samuel Barber’s Quartet op.11 with its celebrated Adagio. Reservations must be made by calling 514-527-5515 or writing to qm@quatuormolinari.q.ca Admission is 20$ and free for children 12 years old or less. On July18, at 1 pm and 4 pm the Molinari Quartet will pursue its Philip Glass quartet cycle with quartets nos 5, 6 and 7.
The winners of the Seventh International Composition Competition
Montreal, Friday May 28, 2021– During its concert on Friday May 28 at 7 pm at the Montreal Conservatory of Music, the Molinari Quartet announced the winners of its Eighth International Composition Competition for String Quartet. The winners were chosen among 115 candidates aged under 40 and the jury – composed of the members of the Molinari Quartet and composers Denis Gougeon and Jimmie LeBlanc – met in May to evaluate the 115 original scores received from 33 countries. For its Eighth edition, the Molinari Quartet has selected four works. The order of the winners will be determined following the concert on February 25, 2022 by the jury, after a final deliberation. Here are the four candidates, in alphabetical order, whose works will be played in concert: Joan Bachs, from Germany, for his work Oleum Perdidisti Edgar Fikes Girtain IV from the United States, for his work For Aurora no.2 Chrisitan Paterniti from Italy for his work Su le soglie del bosco Tigrio Emmanuel Francisco Rodriguez Witrago from Mexico for his work Agere-tio The recipients will share $6,000 in prizes and the first prize winner will be offered a silkscreen by artist Guido Molinari. The four winners will be invited to work with the Molinari Quartet prior to the Winners Concert which will be held on February 25, 20229. The winners will also participateo on February 22 2022, in the Dialogue sur le Plateau consisting of a public workshop, with discussion and performance by the Molinari Quartet.
An other Opus Prize!
The Molinari Quartet is very honored to have won a 21st Opus Prize at the Quebec Music Council’s Opus Prize Gala on Sunday February 7, 2021. This year’s Gala was special edition broadcast live on the web because of the pandemic. The Quartet was given the Opus Prize in the category Album of the Year -Modern, contemporary music for its recording of the complete string quartets by Henryk Gorecki on the ATMA Classique label. To listen or purchase the album, follow this link to ATMA Classique.
VQQM
This site is intended to be a place of discovery and a source of information on works for string quartets by Quebec composers. In the months and years ahead, recordings will be added regularly to make this site a lively and vibrant venue. www.vqqm.ca