The podcast “Le studio du Quatuor Molinari” is kicking off its second season. Three episodes are already available online.

Following an episode about the start of the season and the first concert featuring our new violist, Cynthia Blanchon, host Jean Portugais presented a special episode in mid-November to mark the centennial of Italian composer Luciano Berio, whose complete string quartets were recorded by the Molinari Quartet on the ATMA Classique label. This CD won the 2025 Abbiati Record Award from the Italian National Critics’ Association as well as a Diapason d’Or in the October 2025 issue of the French magazine Diapason.

In the third episode, titled “In the Studio of Composer Blair Thomson,” Le studio du Quatuor Molinari presents the second concert of the 2025–2026 season, Canadian Rhythms, which will take place on December 5, 2025, at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. The program for this evening includes works by Kelly-Marie Murphy (“Dark Energy,” 2007), R. Murray Schafer (String Quartet No. 4, 1989), and a new work by Blair Thomson (“Internesses,” 2025) — a commission by the Molinari Quartet.

In this podcast, host Jean Portugais talks with Blair Thomson about this new work. This conversation offers a deeper insight into the Montreal-based composer, shedding light on his career, his sources of inspiration (miniatures by Webern and Kurtág), and his influences (Tenney, Feldman, Varèse, Bartók). The podcast also features excerpts from this new score, performed by the musicians of Le Molinari during a rehearsal in their studio. During the interview, the composer is open and generous, revealing the source of his inspiration: a run along the shores of the Pacific Ocean near familiar rock formations seen in a unique light, as well as his love for his parents. Blair Thomson’s work Internesses is, in a sense, coming to life right before our ears! Don’t miss it!

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