Paris-based ensemble Quatuor Agate is a string quartet formed in 2016, consisting of members Adrien, Thomas, Raphaël and Simon. The group’s first venture was the creation of the CorsiClassic festival, which now takes place every year in Ajaccio in Corsica, the mission of which is to bring chamber music to diverse audiences.

The quartet have since become distinguished in various international competitions and festivals for several years (including the Best Contemporary Interpretation Prize at the BANFF International String Quartet Competition 2022, Audience Prize at the Steels-Wilsing Competition 2020, and in the Verbier Festival 2019), and achieved a significant milestone in 2021 by winning the prestigious auditions of the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in London. They have released an album with American tenor Eric Ferring in Chicago in Autumn 2023 via Delos, and in April 2024, will release another collaborative album with Frank Braley, Gabriel Le Magadure and Concert de Chausson via Appassionato Records.

The Quartet is currently artist in residence at the Singer Polignac Foundation, major ProQuartet resident in Paris and associated artist at the La Brèche Festival. It is supported by the Günther-Caspar Stiftung as well as the Fondation Banque Populaire. The Agate Quartet studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Eberhard Feltz, in Paris with Mathieu Herzog and finally with the Ebène Quartet at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich.

In their upcoming 2023/24 season, Quatuor Agate will travel the world on several tours, most notably to the United Kingdom, Colombia and Hawaii. The group will also release their debut album on 9 February 2024 with Appassionato Records, which will feature all three of Brahms’ rarely-recorded String Quartets.