Emmanuelle Bertrand

Anne Gastinel, cellist
Natalie Clein, cellist 
Raphaela Gromes, cellist
Emmanuelle Bertrand, cellist  

With their touring programme Femmes des Légendes, the quartet celebrates the luminous power of women who shaped musical history. The title, inspired from the eponymous work by the French composer Mél Bonis, signals a broader tribute to female legends of music. The journey begins with Hildegard von Bingen, the visionary Benedictine abbess who not only explored the healing powers of nature but also created the first breath-filled musical drama of the Middle Ages. The programme also includes two original works for cello quartet — by the French composer Hélène-Frédérique de Faye-Jozin and the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz, who studied in Paris with the legendary Nadia Boulanger, herself one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century.

In its second half, Femme des Légendes turns to four timeless female figures who have become musical and cultural symbols of courage and individuality: Beethoven’s Leonore, Bizet’s Carmen, John Williams’s Princess Leia from Star Wars and Leonard Bernstein’s Maria from West Side Story. 

VON BINGEN (arr. Julian Riem) 
Ave Maria             

JOZIN 
Suite Sylvestre pour 4 Violoncelles 
Salut au bois
Bourrasque en forêt
Adieux au bois

BONIS (arr. Julian Riem) 
Femmes de legendes
Viviane
Desdemona

BACEWITZ
Quartet for 4 Cellos
Narrazione
Riflessioni

BOULANGER (arr. Julian Riem)
Trois pieces

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BEETHOVEN (arr. Julian Riem)
Leonoren Ouvertüre No. 3 

BIZET /  RIEM
Fantasie Carmen

WILLIAMS
Princess Leias Theme from Star Wars

BERNSTEIN (arr. R. Lemetre / A. Gastinel)
West Side Story Suite 
Maria
I feel pretty
Tonight
One hand, one heart
America