so Far so Close Quatuor Alfama

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847): Quatuor à cordes No. 6 en Fa mineur, Op. 80, MWV R 37:
• 1 Mendelssohn: Quatuor à cordes No. 6 en Fa mineur, Op. 80, MWV R 37: I. Allegro vivace assai 06:31
• 2 Mendelssohn: Quatuor à cordes No. 6 en Fa mineur, Op. 80, MWV R 37: II. Allegro assai 04:37
• 3 Mendelssohn: Quatuor à cordes No. 6 en Fa mineur, Op. 80, MWV R 37: III. Adagio 07:45
• 4 Mendelssohn: Quatuor à cordes No. 6 en Fa mineur, Op. 80, MWV R 37: IV. Finale, Allegro molto 05:22
• Patrick Leterme (b. 1981): Trois mouvements pour quatuor à cordes:
• 5 Leterme: Trois mouvements pour quatuor à cordes: I. Solaire 04:25
• 6 Leterme: Trois mouvements pour quatuor à cordes: II. Aérien 04:08
• 7 Leterme: Trois mouvements pour quatuor à cordes: III. Choral 04:40
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Quatuor à cordes No. 1 en La mineur, Op. 41:
• 8 Schumann: Quatuor à cordes No. 1 en La mineur, Op. 41: I. Introduzione, Andante espressivo - Allegro 09:10
• 9 Schumann: Quatuor à cordes No. 1 en La mineur, Op. 41: II. Scherzo, Presto - Intermezzo 03:53
• 10 Schumann: Quatuor à cordes No. 1 en La mineur, Op. 41: III. Adagio 05:18
• 11 Schumann: Quatuor à cordes No. 1 en La mineur, Op. 41: IV. Presto 06:25
• Total Runtime 01:02:14

Info for so Far so Close

After the success of their album Still Schubert, the Alfama Quartet, in its new configuration, records a new album devoted to the exacerbated romanticism in the music of Mendelssohn and Schumann.\n\nSo Far so Close, this shout, this cry that ruptures sound-space. Far Fanny and Close Clara or the contrary. Two female names inseparable from the names of Mendelssohn and Schumann, united here in their melancholy hues and romantic exuberance like a long love letter highlighting the sorrow of separation. Patrick Leterme\u2019s Quartet, solar, ethereal and choral, fuses the tessituras of the four members of the mysterious and subtle formation that is the string quartet.

The programme of the Quatuor Alfama brings out the diversity of the relational ties, thereby revealing its own share of intimacy.

Quatuor Alfama:
Alice Van Leuven, violin
Caroline Denys, violin
Morgan Huet, viola
Renaat Ackaert, cello

The Alfama Quartet
founded in 2005 in Brussels, aims to establish itself on the Belgian and international scene by developing a high quality musical style, in line with the aspirations of its members and a coherent and demanding artistic vision. In addition to exploring the vast repertoire for string quartet, the Alfama Quartet defines itself by its openness to collaboration with other artists in the musical and theatrical field.

The Alfama Quartet has performed in many prestigious international venues and festivals, including: Bozar, deSingel, the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the Ambronay Festival, the Cité de La Musique, the Paris Philharmonic, Flagey, the Musée d'Orsay, the Stavelot Festival, the Bordeaux Opera, the Dijon Opera, the Alcobaça Festival, Espinho in Portugal, the Rouen Opera, Resurrexit in Lithuania, Sonntagsmusik in Linz, Racinotes in Switzerland,…

The Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia invited the quartet to perform as a soloist with the orchestra for the concert "La nuit dans tous ses états". The Alfama Quartet also collaborates with the pianists Julien Libeer, Boyan Vodenicharov, Julien Libeer, Guillaume Coppola, Nathanaël Gouin and Guillaume Vincent; the cellists Marie Hallynck, Karel Steylaerts and Camille Thomas; the violist Tony Nys and the singers Jodie Devos and Albane Carrère.

Their latest cd “Still Schubert” (Cypres, 2019) having been acclaimed by national and international press and received an “Octave de la musique”, the quartet decided to record a new album dedicated to Schumann and Mendelssohn. This album will also include a creation from Patrick Leterme. It will be released in February 2023 under the label Cypres.

The actress Ariane Rousseau and the Alfama Quartet created "Le Rêve d'Ariane" in 2011, a fine and playful show in which young and old alike can discover the history and evolution of the string quartet through the centuries. Since its creation, Le Rêve d'Ariane has been performed more than 250 times in front of nearly 100,000 children. In 2015, the same team wrote a second show, a tale for children entitled "Pomme-Henriette", which was created at the Philharmonie du Luxembourg and repeated in the programme of the Philharmonie de Paris as well as at the Opéra de Bordeaux. Following this success, a third family show was created, "Fanny and Felix", based on the Mendelssohn siblings, and produced by the Festival de Wallonie (in French) and deSingel in Antwerp (in Dutch). The three family shows were translated and produced in both languages.

In 2017, accordionist Anne Niepold and the Alfama Quartet created 'Lalala', a warm concert full of finesse, nostalgia and humour. Anne Niepold's arrangements and compositions combine well-known French songs with pieces from the classical repertoire for string quartet.

The quartet was taught by Walter Levin of the Lasalle Quartet, Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartet, Heime Müller and Natalia Prischepenko of the Artemis Quartet, Eberhard Feltz and members of the Danel Quartet.

The Alfama Quartet is supported by La Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles.

This album contains no booklet.