Quatuor Molinari

Internationally acclaimed by the public and the critics since its foundation in 1997, the Molinari Quartet has given itself the mandate to perform works from the 20th and 21st centuries repertoire for string quartet, to commission new works and to initiate discussions between musicians, artists and the public. Recipient of eighteen Opus Prizes awarded by the Quebec Music Council to underline musical excellence on the Quebec concert stage, the Molinari Quartet is described by the critics as an “essential” and “prodigious” ensemble, even “Canada’s answer to the Kronos or Arditti Quartet”. In addition to many Canadian works, the Molinari Quartet’s repertoire includes among others, quartets by Bartók, Berg, Britten, Corigliano, Debussy, Dusapin, Dutilleux, Glass, Gubaidulina, Kurtág, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Prokofiev, Ravel, Rihm, Schnittke, Schoenberg, Shostakovich and Webern. The Molinari Quartet was heard twice as soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit and was invited to perform in numerous concert series and festivals throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, China and Europe. Launched in October 2001, the Molinari Quartet International Competition for Composition has had an enormous success. Over its six editions it has received over 750 new quartet scores from 65 countries.