France

Distribution

Antoine Maisonhaute, violin
Ivan Lebrun, violin
Julie Michael, viola
Jeanne Maisonhaute, cello

The Tana String Quartet was formed in 2010 to promote contemporary repertoire and enhance the relationship between composer and performer; they place no boundaries when selecting style or genre and often present classical repertoire alongside contemporary works. Recognised by The Guardian as “impeccable players”, the quartet is recipient of an array of international awards, from the ProQuartet – CEMC foundation in Paris, the Verbier Festival Academy and the Union of Belgian Composers (Fuga Prize), they also received the Octave for best exponents of contemporary music.

The Tana String Quartet has appeared at prestigious festivals and concert series worldwide including Aix-en-Provence, Berlioz, MUSICA à Strasbourg, La Folle Journée, Saint-Denis, Albi, IRCAM/Manifeste, Musiques du GMEM, Controtempo, Verbier, Ars Musica, Klara, Darmstadt... In 2015/2016 the Quartet will make their debut appearances at the Philharmonie de Paris and Concertgebouw in Bruges with the premiere of Yann Robin’s Quartet No 3, which they will also perform at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, together with Hector Parra’s new piece.

Tana is the only European ensemble to have discarded conventional scores to perform from iPads, which they also use to accompany their educational work. A privileged partner with Music Research Centres including: Centre Henri Pousseur in Liège, Belgium; GMEM in Marseille and ArtZoyd in Valenciennes, France, the quartet gave the first ever concert on hybrid instruments, premiering a piece by Peruvian composer Juan Gonzalo Arroyo. The new system is a major contribution to electronic music.

The Tana Quartet has studied with such notable masters of education as Alfred Brendel , Gabor Takacs and David Alberman, Andrés Keller, Yann Robin, Raphael Cendo and Ondrej Adamek in the Academy of Aix en Provence 2011; Paul Katz, Walter Levin, Eberhard Feltz, Alasdair Tait, Nicholas Kirchen, Louis Fima and Natalia Prishepenko, as part of ProQuartet training program.

The quartet receives support from many French institutions (DRAC, SACEM, ADAMI, SPEDIDAM, “Musique Nouvelle en Liberté” and “Fonds pour la Création Musicale”).