Tana Quartet performs Philip Glass' “King Lear”

Hailed as “impeccable players” (The Guardian), the Tana Quartet approaches music of different eras and aesthetics with equal intensity, creating a new tradition that links past and future. Tana has appeared at prestigious festivals and concert series worldwide, including Philharmonie de Paris, Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Villa Medicis in Rome, Darmstadt and Wigmore Hall. The quartet has been honoured with numerous awards such as the Union Composers’ Fuga Prize, and Octaves de la Musique for contemporary music, the Coup de Coeur of the Charles Clos Academy and an HSBC Award at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

Since its founding in 2010, Tana has been committed to promoting contemporary music in all its diversity and seeking out collaborations with composers. The quartet has consistently acted as a champion of new works, having premiered over 250 pieces by leading composers such as Ivan Fedele, Philippe Hurel and Hèctor Parra; they have been crucial advocates for the saturist movement, working closely with Franck Bedrossian, Raphaël Cendo and Yann Robin, whose works are featured on their album Shadows. The quartet has released 13 albums, including Philip Glass’ complete works for string quartet, recognized by Classica magazine as a “best album of 2018”; and most recently, Bleu Ébène, featuring the complete string quartets of David Achenberg.

Tana’s devotion to collaborations extends to research, including partnerships with IRCAM Paris, Grame Lyon, GMEM Marseille, ArtZoyd and Centre Henri Pousseur. The quartet co-designed hybrid electroacoustic instruments in collaboration with composer Juan Gonzalo Arroyo, a ground-breaking contribution to electronic music. Their album Volts, featuring new works for these instruments, was acclaimed as marking “a landmark in the history of the quartet genre” (classiquenews.com).

Dedicated to education, the Tana Quartet is regularly invited to give masterclasses at institutions such as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, University of California Berkeley and Shanghai Conservatory. In 2018 they co-founded ARCO, an annual contemporary music academy for young composers and performers, in partnership with the Salzburg Mozarteum, GMEM, Ensemble Multilatérale and Les Métaboles.

Tana believes in extending and equalising the reach of the arts. The quartet has designed two outreach programmes to deliver engaging musical experiences to new audiences: Music Far and Wide brings the quartet into atypical venues, from supermarkets to hospitals; and One-Day Orchestra gives participants of all ages the opportunity to immerse themselves in the creative process.

The Tana Quartet is composed of:

• Antoine Maisonhaute, founding violinist
• Ivan Lebrun, violinist
• Julie Michael, violist
• Jeanne Maisonhaute, cellist.