Quatuor Ardeo

The Ardeo Quartet captures the musical sensibility of author Akira Mizubayashi in his trilogy - Âme brisée (Prix des libraires 2020), Reine de cœur (2022) and Suite inoubliable (Selection Prix littéraire Le Monde 2023).

‘Our first encounter with Akira was through the pages of these novels. These novels sound so right for a musician. As instrumentalists and quartet players, we immediately sensed a genuine sincerity, recognised the soul of a musician, and felt the author's real love for music, those who play it, those who listen to it attentively and those who make the instruments. Mizubayashi's music is neither a pretext nor a service to a cause; it exists for its own sake and shines through in everything, guiding our attention, our tension and our breaths throughout the pages.
The following programme gives us an even deeper insight into Akira Mizubayashi's world of sound and poetry. Through alternating readings and musical moments, we invite the listener to experience these tensions and breaths even more intensely in this marriage of literature and music’.
- Ardeo Quartet

"Âme brisée"
Bach: Partita for solo violin No. 3 in E major, BWV1006 / Gavotte en Rondeau
Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804 (Op. 29) ‘Rosamunde’ / 1st movement

"Queen of Hearts"
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 / Excerpt
Elgar: Salut d'Amour, Op. 12

"Unforgettable Suite"
Bach: Excerpts from Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007