Emmanuelle Bertrand

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. 

Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179) (arr. Julian Riem) 
Ave Maria (5´)             

Faye Jozin (1871 – 1942)
Suite Sylvestre pour 4 Violoncelles (12´)
Salut au bois
Bourrasque en forêt
Adieux au bois

Mel Bonis (1858 – 1937) (arr. Julian Riem) 
Femmes de legendes (8´)
Viviane
Desdemona

Grazyna Bacewitcz (1909 – 1969)
Quartet for 4 Cellos (13´) 
Narrazione
Riflessioni

Nadja Boulanger (1887 – 1979) (arr. Julian Riem)
Trois pieces (9´)

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Ludwig v. Beethoven (1770 – 1827) (arr. Julian Riem)
Leonoren Ouvertüre No. 3 (15´)

George Bizet (1838 – 1875) / Julian Riem (*1973)
Fantasie sur Carmen (9´)

John Williams (*1932)
Princess Leias Theme from Star Wars (4´)

Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) (arr. R. Lemetre / A. Gastinel)
West Side Story Suite (18´)
Maria
I feel pretty
Tonight
One hand, one heart
America