Quatuor Voce

Beethoven's quartets are so extraordinary in their diversity, originality and grandeur that they have no equivalent before the twentieth century. The young prodigy Mendelssohn, however, pays tribute to Beethoven in a rather brilliant way in his quartets, starting with his Op. 13. True to their commitment to creativity, Les Voce have also commissioned a work for strings from Japanese composer Noriko Baba, who works with the idea that ‘behind all music there is music’ (Gérard Pesson).

Noriko Baba likes to play with musical quotations, like a wandering shadow that is often fleeting. This piece will be freely inspired by Beethoven's last opuses.

This programme, Hommage, plays on multiple reminiscences and revisits the question of Beethoven's legacy in the twenty-first century.

L. V. Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet Op. 135 (excerpt)
Lento Assai, cantabile e tranquillo

F. Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Quartet Op. 13
I. Allegro violento ed agitato
II. Vivacissimo
III. Calmo e poetico
IV. Allegramente rustico

N. Baba (1972)
After Op. 135, for strings

L. V. Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet Op. 130
I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro
II. Presto
III. Andante con moto ma non troppo
IV. Alla tanza tedesca (Allegro Assai)
V. Cavatine (Adagio molto espressivo)
VI. Finale (Allegro)

Album release planned for 2027.