Ultimes Quatuors - Festival Musiques Interdites

The Musiques Interdites Quartet, formed by soloists from the Marseille Philharmonic Orchestra, continues its presentation of final quartets, begun with the 2025 Musiques Interdites festival. Intimate Letters is the title of Leoš Janáček’s second string quartet. It was written between January 29 and February 19, 1928. It is nicknamed Intimate Letters in tribute to his muse, Kamila Stösslova, a married woman nearly forty years his junior who strongly influenced his work during the final years of his life. The premiere took place in Brno on September 11, 1928, performed by the Moravian Quartet. The work consists of four movements: Andante – con moto – allegro / Adagio – vivace / Moderato – adagio – allegro / Allegro – andante – adagio. Bartók’s String Quartet No. 6 in D major was composed in Saanen, Switzerland, and then in Budapest, from August to November 1939. It was the artist’s last work in Hungary, before he left his country for the United States: dedicated to the Kolisch Quartet, it premiered in New York on January 20, 1941. The work consists of four movements: Mesto – vivace / Mesto – Marcia / Mesto: burletta – Moderato / Mesto. Each section begins with a slow, melancholy melody (Mesto), introduced by each instrument of the quartet, which gradually invades each movement to form the entirety of the last. With Dali Feng and Matthieu Latil (violin) – Brice Duval (viola) – Xavier Chatillon (cello) Concert in the crypts