The Quatuor Danel string quartet gave a master class at TNUA on March 24, during which its members provided advice to students concerning their styles and interpretations of musical pieces.
The quartet is formed by first violinist Marc Danel, second violinist Gilles Millet, violist Vlad Bogdanas and cellist Yovan Markovitch.
The Quatuor Danel, founded in 1991, is well-known for its bold, concentrated interpretations of the string quartet cycles of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, and Weinberg.
The musicians' lively and fresh interpretations of the traditional quartet repertoire have won them wide plaudits. They have also collaborated with major contemporary composers such as Rihm, Lachenmann, Gubaidulina, Dusapin Jörg Widmann and Bruno Mantovani.
Russian composers have a special place in the Quatuor Danel's repertoire. They have championed all string quartets by Shostakovich and recorded the complete cycle for Fuga Libera in 2005.
The Quatuor Danel has been eager to educate young musicians in general and string quartets in particular. Teaching and master classes are a fundamental part of their activities. The string quartet is a regular guest at festivals such as Kuhmo, Cork, Schleswig-Holstein, Alpen Festival, Bregenz, Montpellier, Enescu Festival (Bucharest), Ars Musica and Musica Mundi.
At the TNUA master class, two string quartets formed by students played parts of Mendelssohn's “String Quartet Op.44 No.2 in E minor,” after which the Quatuor Danel masters gave them advice.
Mr. Marc Danel noted that a quartet is a conversation between its performers, each of whom must listen to the others' music and pay attention to their facial expressions.