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A concert of Mendelssohn and Enescu octets which proves that eight can be more than four plus four.

Sometimes you just marvel at the level of musical inspiration and the virtuosic quality of the playing. The two octets by Mendelssohn and Enescu make a very satisfying pairing.

A programme consisting of works from three different centuries illustrated the French ensemble's versatility and acumen. 

Violin dealers J & A Beare celebrate its 130th anniversary in lavish style by bringing together eight of the Cremona luthier’s exceptional instruments for a concert directed by Dutch violinist, Janine Jansen. 

One would never had guessed that the Ébènes had not played Shostakovich's dark Eighth String Quartet before this tour, such was the way their performance transcended individual agony to address human despair in general.

Ébène Quartet’s musical ebb and flow brings to mind Proust’s words to Fauré, that he was “intoxicated by his music”.  

The programme ended with a sense of affirmation that shouted "that's how the Ravel quartet should go!"

Two of chamber music's most monumental works given powerfully physical and visceral performances by the Quatuor Ébène and Gautier Capuçon.

Quatuor Ebène delight a Queen's Hall audience with Haydn, Dutilleux and Brahms.

There are few works in the classical repertoire as expansive as Mozart’s Quintet in C major, K515 – the opening Allegro is actually longer than any movement of its kind before Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony whilst its spacious character seems to prefigure Schubert.

There are few better openers to a string quartet recital than Haydn, the man who developed the genre into the democratic dialogue capable of drawing 900 listeners. Few better examples of this democracy exist than the variations which constitute the second movement of his 1796–97 String Quartet in C major Op. 76 no. 3, “Emperor”.

Trust Haydn to provide the music for by far the most engrossing performance I heard at the Verbier Festival. Once again, having heard his music played with verve and appreciation by keen musicians, one wondered why more Haydn is not heard in concert, whether as symphonies, piano sonatas, or string quartets.

Regarded as one of the best young string quartets around today, the Quatuor Ebène have made a name for themselves with their homogeneity of sound, in equal parts vibrant and mellifluous, and the powerful immediacy of their playing.

It would be difficult indeed to imagine an evening of string quartet playing at once more diverse and more brilliant than this. Already one of the world’s finer quartets after only a few years in the public eye, the Quatuor Ebène are notable for their catholic tastes.