The Hermes Quartet, in reference to the famous messenger of Greek mythology, draws its musical strength from its role as a bridge between the composer’s text and the audience’s sensitivity. The musicians also establish this identity through their travels around the world. The Carnegie Hall in New York, the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Wigmore Hall in London are among the venues that have made the greatest impression on them. The quartet has also performed at major festivals such as the Folles Journées in Nantes and Tokyo, the Radio-France festival in Montpellier, the Easter and August Musical festivals in Deauville, the Roque d’Anthéron, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Mantova Chamber Music festival, the Alizés spring festival in Morocco, the Wonderfeel festival…

The original formation of the group was born in 2008 within the walls of the CNSMD of Lyon where they studied with the members of the Ravel Quartet. They were then enriched by outstanding personalities such as the Ysaÿe Quartet, the Artemis Quartet, Eberhard Feltz, and later Alfred Brendel, an immense inspiration with whom its members still work regularly today. Open to all repertoires, they regularly share the stage with such outstanding musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Nicholas Angelich, Gregor Sigl, Pavel Kolesnikov, Kim Kashkashian, Anne Gastinel and the Ebony and Auryn Quartets.

Winner of numerous first prizes, notably at the Geneva competition and at the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, it is also supported by the Banque Populaire foundation. It was quartet in residence at the Chapelle Reine Elisabeth in Brussels from 2012 to 2016 and has been an associate quartet at the Fondation Singer-Polignac in Paris since 2019.

Their close and privileged collaboration with the La Dolce Volta label has resulted in their complete Schumann quartets as well as an album devoted to Ravel, Debussy and Dutilleux, both of which have earned them multiple press awards. Their latest recording of Schubert quartets, moreover, won Classica magazine’s Choc as well as a Radio Classique Trophy, and was named Bavarian Radio Br-Klassik’s CD of the Week.

Since 2018, the quartet has broadened its musical horizon through its meeting with accordionist Félicien Brut and double bassist Édouard Macarez, with whom they decided to create the Pari des Bretelles, a project recorded for Mirare in 2019, before a second collaboration in 2020, paying tribute to Beethoven through nine creations.

Elise Liu plays a violin by Carlo Tononi from 1730 lent by Mr. Piganiol, at the initiative of the association Talents & Violon’celles.