CONCERT QUATUOR DIOTIMA – 30.10.2026

Five years after its Cyprus debut, Quatuor Diotima returns to Nicosia on the occasion of its 30th anniversary! One of France’s most renowned string quartets and one of the most sought-after chamber ensembles on the international stage today, Diotima has occupied a distinctive place at the highest level of European chamber music, boasting a repertoire that ranges from the great masterpieces of the 19th century to the some of the most important music being written today. Quatuor Diotima is a regular presence at many of the world’s foremost venues, including Wigmore Hall, Pierre Boulez Saal, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, and its extensive and highly acclaimed discography has received major critical distinctions, including multiple Diapason d’Or awards, a German Record Critics’ Award, and the European Cultural Heritage Award from the French Ministry of Culture. 

For their concert in Cyprus, on Friday 30 October 2026 at The Shoe Factory, Nicosia, Quatuor Diotima will present an intense, searching and deeply expressive programme, pairing masterpieces by Beethoven and Brahms with Georges Aperghis’s strikingly original String Quartet No.2, which was commissioned by Radio France and given its world premiere by Diotima at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées a few months ago. Moving between urgency, intimacy, tension and moments of remarkable freedom, this is a concert that will unquestionably unfold through constantly shifting emotional landscapes, gathering momentum towards a powerful dramatic climax.

PROGRAMME:

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

String Quartet No.1 in C minor, Op.51 No.1

Georges Aperghis (b.1945)

String Quartet No.2

Interval 

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

String Quartet No.16 in F major, Op.135

QUATUOR DIOTIMA

Yun-Peng Zhao (violin) 

Léo Marillier (violin)

Franck Chevalier (viola)

Alexis Descharmes (cello) 

One of France’s most renowned string quartets and one of the most sought-after chamber ensembles on the international stage today, Quatuor Diotima was formed in 1996 by graduates of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. 

The Quartet’s name evokes a double musical significance: Diotima is at once an allegory of German Romanticism – Friederich Hölderlin gives the name to the love of his life in his novel Hyperion – and a rallying cry for the music of our time, brandished by Luigi Nono in his composition Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima.

Quatuor Diotima has collaborated closely with several of the greatest composers of the late 20th century, notably Pierre Boulez (who revised his Livre pour Quatuor for them) and Helmut Lachenmann. Shedding new light on romantic or more contemporary masterworks, particularly in Beethoven, Schubert, Janáček, Debussy, Ravel and Bartók, as well as the Second Viennese School, the Quartet also regularly commissions new works from the most brilliant composers of our time, including Tristan Murail, Rebecca Saunders, Toshio Hosokawa, Gérard Pesson.

Quatuor Diotima appears regularly in the world’s greatest halls and concert series such as Konserthuset Stockholm, Wigmore Hall London, Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, Concertgebouw Brugge, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Bozar Brüssel, String Quartet Biennale Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, Pierre Boulez Saal Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Brucknerfest Linz, Liederhalle Stuttgart. Current and forthcoming engagements include extensive tours across Europe, the United States and Asia, as well as concerts at the Philharmonie Essen, the Wien Modern and IRCAM Manifeste festivals, Gaida Festival Vilnius, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Santa Fe Music Festival and La Jolla Music Festival.

Since 2021, Quatuor Diotima finds a new base of operations in the Grand Est region of France – a residency that allows the Quartet to develop its Academy in collaboration with the Cité Musicale de Metz. Due to its great interest in pedagogy and the advancement of young artists, the Quartet has been recently named Associated Artist in the Academy of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and gave masterclasses at UCLA, York University, the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen, the Central Conservatory of Beijing, and the Impuls Academy in Graz.

The Quartet’s rich discography has been regularly praised and awarded by the international musical press: French magazine Diapason d’Or (five awards including two Best of the Year), Classica (Best of the Year), Télérama, Grammophone (Editor’s Choice), The Strad, a German Record Critics’ Award, and many others. In 2018, Quatuor Diotima was awarded the European Cultural Heritage Award by the French Ministry of Culture.

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INFORMATION: 

Pharos Arts Foundation www.pharosartsfoundation.org & Tel. 22-663871 

TICKETS:

From SoldOutTickets https://tinyurl.com/quatuordiotima26 

Tickets: €25 Regular | €20 Concessions (pensioners and students) & Members of the Pharos Arts Foundation (upon submitting their membership number) | Disabled: free (upon submitting a valid disability card). Their accompanying person / caregiver is eligible for the concession rate.

Duration: 70′