Quatuor Ardeo

‘Elegance, precision, fluidity, but also great ease with the agogic palette, the four musicians of Ardeo live up to their reputation: they even live up to their name, ready to burn with a thousand fires and subtle crackles so that an ardent and lively musicality is consumed.’ Classiquenews

Ardeo — ‘I burn’ in Latin. A founding energy, a shared intensity.

Since its creation in 2001, the Ardeo Quartet has been driven by a deep complicity and relentless high standards, cultivating an approach to the string quartet that combines precision with a fully embraced freedom of expression.

The ensemble's repertoire spans the entire history of the string quartet and extends far beyond its traditional boundaries. It draws inspiration from memorable encounters with contemporary composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Philippe Schoeller, François Meïmoun and Thomas Larcher, a living treasure that the quartet shares with its audience.

After studying with the Hagen Quartet, Rainer Schmidt, Eberhard Feltz and Ferenc Rados, the quartet has established itself as one of the most internationally recognised French ensembles. The musicians, whose career has been marked by major awards at international competitions in Bordeaux, Moscow, Melbourne and the Premio Paolo-Borciani, have performed on major European stages, from the Philharmonie de Paris to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Barbican Centre in London. 

The Ardeo Quartet's albums reflect this passionate musicality, curiosity and high standards through their artistic offerings: the ensemble has recorded the world premiere of Koechlin's first two quartets, followed by a disc dedicated to Shostakovich with pianist David Kadouch (Transart Live), and a Schumann album on Decca. With the support of the Palazzetto Bru Zane, the musicians recorded three quartets by Anton Reicha (Empreinte Digitale), also as a world premiere. This was followed by a version of Bach's Goldberg Variations in a transcription by François Meïmoun (IBS Classical), a unique project that broadened the quartet's repertoire. More recently, their recording of works by Crumb, Purcell and Schubert (Klarthe) marked a milestone in their artistic development.

The Ardeo Quartet enjoys sharing the stage with artists such as Vassilena Serafimova, Gaëlle Solal, Kit Armstrong, Reto Bieri, Thomas Demenga, Evgeny Koroliov, Luís Fernando Perez, David Kadouch, Jonas Vitaud, Aaron Pilsan, Adam Laloum and Ryoko Aoki. The ensemble also collaborates with the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France and the Musica Viva ensemble under the direction of Julien Leroy and Alexander Rudin, performing John Adams' concerto for string quartet and orchestra, Absolut Jest.

This season, the quartet has been invited to perform at the Philharmonie de Paris and will present a new recording with Vassilena Serafimova, to be released by La Dolce Volta.

ARDEO QUARTET
Mi-Sa Yang, Sophie Williams, violins
Yuko Hara, viola
Joëlle Martinez, cello

February 2026