quatuor hermès

The Hermès Quartet, named after the famous messenger of Greek mythology, draws its musical strength from its role as a conduit between the composer's text and the audience's sensibilities. The musicians also forge this identity through their travels around the world. Carnegie Hall in New York, the Forbidden City in Beijing, and Wigmore Hall in London are among the venues that have most profoundly influenced them. The quartet also performs at major festivals such as La Folle Journée in Nantes and Tokyo, the Radio France Festival in Montpellier, the Easter and August Music Festivals in Deauville, La Roque d'Anthéron, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Mantova Chamber Music Festival, the Printemps des Alizés in Morocco, and the Wonderfeel Festival.

 

The group's original lineup was formed in 2008 within the walls of the CNSMD in Lyon, where they studied alongside members of the Ravel Quartet. They further enriched their musical education through collaborations with prominent figures such as the Ysaÿe Quartet, the Artemis Quartet, Eberhard Feltz, and later Alfred Brendel. Open to all repertoires, they regularly share the stage with distinguished musicians like Yo-Yo Ma, Nicholas Angelich, Gregor Sigl, Pavel Kolesnikov, Kim Kashkashian, Anne Gastinel, and the Ébène and Auryn Quartets.

 

Winners of numerous first prizes, notably at the Geneva International Music Competition and the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, they are also supported by the Banque Populaire Foundation. They were quartet-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels from 2012 to 2016 and have been an associate quartet of the Singer-Polignac Foundation in Paris since 2019.

 

Their close and privileged collaboration with the label La Dolce Volta has resulted in their complete recording of Schumann's quartets, as well as an album dedicated to Ravel, Debussy, and Dutilleux, and both of which have garnered them numerous awards in the press. Their recording of Schubert's quartets, Rosamunde and Death and the Maiden, won the Choc Classica award, as well as a 2022 Radio Classique Trophy. Their latest album "Echoes of Vienna" was released in 2026 and has been praised by audiences and the press alike.

 

Since 2018, the quartet has broadened its musical horizons, meeting accordionist Félicien Brut and double bassist Édouard Macarez, with whom they formed Le Pari des Bretelles. They released their first recording for Mirare in 2019.

 

Yan Levionnois plays a David Tecchler cello from 1703, generously loaned by private benefactors.