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Quatuor Franz Joseph
Performer

The Franz Joseph String Quartet was created by four enthusiastic and leading early-music string players from Montreal to quench their thirst for the quartet repertoire of the Enlightenment using period instruments. Having for many years performed individually and together in Quebec’s major chamber and ancient music ensembles (Orford String Quartet, La Nouvele Sinfonie, Orchestre Baroque de Montréal, Ensemble Arion, Franz Joseph Trio, Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Les Idées heureuses, Les Boréades, etc.), Olivier Brault and Jacques-André Houle on violin, Hélène Plouffe on viola, and Marcel Saint-Cyr on cello team up to share in the unique experience of delving into the genius of the earliest architects of the string quartet, while still nourishing an interest for parallel repertoires. In 2002, the Quartet undertook in Montreal the performance of the complete Haydn string quartets. The Quartet performs works of Arvo Pärt on an ATMA CD released in March 2004, nominated for two 2004 ADISQ awards and an Opus award. In addition, the Quartet performed at the Automne Musical du Château de Versailles 2005, under the auspices of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles in France, in a concert featuring works by the French composer of German origin, Henri-Joseph Rigel. An ATMA CD of this composer’s Opus 10 quartets was released in August 2005.