"Women composers and patrons"

Karen Rehnqvist (2017) : The Riddle (8')

Aleksandra Vrebalov (2015) : My Desert my Rose (8')

Inti Figgis Vizueta (2021) : Branching Patterns (7')

Piotr Illitch Tchaïvkoski : String Quartet n.3 (30')

encore : Claude Debussy, a movement from his string quartet op. 10.

Deeply committed to promoting the works of contemporary women composers, the Métamorphoses Quartet is highlighting in this concert program three works commissioned by the Kronos String Quartet, a pillar of contemporary creation for 40 years. Young Swedish composer Inti Figgis-Vizueta draws the listener into a network of patterns that develop and distort freely, at the whim of the performers. Her elder sister Karen Rehnqvist, on the other hand, transports us into a well-defined, albeit little-known sound universe: Nordic folk music, invoked with traditional dances and fiddle-like melodies, while in "My desert, my rose", Aleksandra Vrebalov's percussive rhythms transport the listener into a form of overwhelming trance.

While it's unfortunately still very rare to hear the works of women composers in our concert halls, we also often tend to forget about all the women who actively supported, inspired and enabled numerous famous composers to write their masterpieces. One of the most famous of these is undoubtedly Nadejda van Meck, who supported Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for over fifteen years. The performance of Tchaikovsky's quartet can be preceded by a reading of excerpts from their extensive correspondence. A dedicatee of many of the composer's works, Nadejda van Meck was also an early financial supporter of the young Debussy.