One of Erato’s major projects for the Beethoven anniversary year with a truly global scope, recorded between May 2019 and January 2020 in seven major world cities: Philadelphia, Vienna, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Melbourne, Nairobi and Paris. Supported by a huge tour in 2019- 2020 covering Asia, Africa, Australia, US, Africa and Europe. Liner notes are by the cellist of Quatuor Ébène, Raphaël Merlin, who has written comments on the recordings in each city. The first album, featuring the “Razumovsky” Quartets recorded in Vienna received great critical acclaim, Choc of the French magazine Classica, December 2019.

Beethoven’s 16 string quartets occupy a place of honour in the chamber repertoire and, like his nine symphonies and 32 piano sonatas, trace his progression through his creative life. 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, and Quatuor Ébène is recognising this with an extensive tour, entitled Beethoven Around the World, which runs from Spring 2019 to December 2020. Over that period the French ensemble will give over 120 concerts in a total of 21 countries on six continents, focusing on complete cycles of the quartets from February 2020.

Beethoven Around the World encompasses live recordings for Erato, building a complete cycle, made in seven of the world’s great cities: Vienna (at the Konzerthaus); Philadelphia (Kimmel Center); Tokyo (Suntory Hall); São Paulo (Sala São Paulo); Melbourne (Melbourne Recital Centre); Nairobi, and, with the support of UNESCO, Paris (Philharmonie de Paris).

Speaking of the ongoing tour, the members of Quatuor Ébène say: “This is where Beethoven goes global. The quartets are 16 masterpieces that form an eternally modern artistic canon of unparalleled breadth and depth – they translate the purest humanity into music. In themselves they represent an odyssey, a round-the-world voyage.” The players believe that the composer’s music “transcends all linguistic, geographical and political borders ... Both modern and timeless, it is universal. It cannot be readily classified as Classical or Romantic, as German, or even as Western, but it is music that expresses itself freely and which addresses the audiences of the future rather than its own time … It can seem complex at first, but everything becomes clear as its essence emerges.”


“Beethoven’s music… is music that expresses itself freely and which addresses the audiences of the future rather than its own time” – Quatuor Ébène


Quatuor Ébène:
- Pierre Colombet (violin)
- Gabriel Le Magadure (violin)
- Marie Chilemme (viola)
- Raphaël Merlin (cello)