»With Beethoven, you’re never quite at home«

The Quatuor Ébène is bringing Beethoven’s string quartet cycle to the composer’s hometown – having already performed it on six continents. Our 2026 resident ensemble talks about their respect for this ›Everest of string quartets‹.

»Beethoven Around the World«: That was the name of the spectacular project with which the Quatuor Ébène performed around the globe, taking Beethoven’s 16 string quartets to 21 countries – from Kenya to New Zealand. The four musicians were lucky: the tour ended in January 2020, just a few weeks before concert life came to a standstill worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ébènes also had to cancel a number of performances in the Beethoven anniversary year of 2020. But the sensational recordings from »Beethoven Around the World« remained as a record of the tour. And so this cycle was released on CD and DVD in a benchmark recording.

With the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death fast approaching, the Quatuor Ébène is back in action to pay tribute to its signature composer on an international tour: »This is our revenge on Covid«, the four members smile. And one of the most important stops on the tour is Beethoven’s birthplace, Bonn. The Paris-based ensemble had already been featured at the Beethovenfest in 2022 with an extensive residency. So now the Ébènes are almost returning home. »Bringing Beethoven’s work back to his hometown is a sacred mission that we want to fulfil to the best of our ability. Of course, playing his quartets at his birthplace has a very special appeal!«

Does the ensemble also feel ›at home‹ with Beethoven? »On the one hand, yes, because he has been part of our daily lives since our beginnings. During the 2019 recording project, we felt he was like a big brother, a father, or at least a family member watching over our rehearsals to ensure we were on the right track. We have experienced every human emotion with him.« Yet on the other hand, the respect remains: »Today we feel we know him a little better and are closer to him. But it would be presumptuous to believe that we ›feel at home‹ in his unfathomably rich music!«

At this year’s festival, the Quatuor Ébène will present the first half of a complete cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets: a magnificent start to the anniversary season. We can already reveal that the series will be continued in the actual anniversary year of 2027 by another famous ensemble – the Belcea Quartet. Quatuor Ébène has deliberately divided the 16 quartets between themselves and these fellow artists. This offers two exciting perspectives on a musical summit that the Ébènes never tire of scaling. »Preparing and performing the entire Beethoven cycle is always a huge challenge: more than eight hours of the most intense and demanding music – emotionally, technically and intellectually – change your life in so many ways.«

During their residency, the ensemble will not present the works in chronological order. Instead, each programme will combine different creative periods – from the early Opus 18, through a selection of the »Rasumovsky« Quartets, op. 59, and the »Harp Quartet«, op. 74, to the enigmatic Große Fuge, op. 133. »We considered which pieces might go well together, which keys could be combined effectively. In this way, we present a cross-section that does justice to Beethoven’s entire oeuvre«, say Les Ébènes. The groundbreaking Great Fugue forms the grand finale: »This music was far ahead of its time. Performing it is comparable to the kind of trance you might experience in a rock band.« Here lies the challenge of »how a quartet can sound as powerful as an orchestra«.

With its new cellist, Yuya Okamoto, the ensemble is now diving back into this repertoire with fresh energy. What is it that makes it so endlessly fascinating to them? »Beethoven is cosmic, metaphysical, incredibly visionary: as elegant as Mozart, as playful as Haydn, as structured as Brahms, as romantic as Schumann, as rich in contrast as Bartók – and behind an often serious façade, as fragile and emotional as any human being.«