// Biography
Léo Marillier Violin 2
Franck Chevalier Viola
Alexis Descharmes Cello
Quatuor Diotima, one of the most sought after string quartets of today, was formed under the impulse of four graduates from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in 1996. Its name bears a double reference: Diotima as the allegory of German Romanticism – Friedrich Hölderlin’s Hyperion thus baptizes his muse and lifelong love – and as firebrand of the music of today, with Luigi Nono’s Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima.
Quatuor Diotima worked and works in close proximity with some of the greatest masters of the second half of the twentieth century, among which Pierre Boulez and Helmut Lachenmann. It commissioned and gave rise to creations from some of the most brilliant composers of our time, such as Toshio Hosokawa, Miroslav Srnka, Alberto Posadas, Mauro Lanza, Gérard Pesson, Rebecca Saunders, Misato Mochizuki, and Tristan Murail. Mirroring this activity within the music of today, Quatuor Diotima sheds new light on romantic and modern masterworks, particularly in Beethoven, Schubert, the Second Viennese School with Schönberg, Berg and Webern, or Janáček, Debussy, Ravel and Bartók.
In 2023, the Quatuor followed its expansive discography by joining the Pentatone house, with a monograph of György Ligeti. The Gramophone Magazine: « this new Quatuor Diotima disc should become the go-to Ligeti string quartets disc for the foreseeable future ». The two following recordings, containing Anton Bruckner, Friedrich Klose and the Livre pour quatuor by Pierre Boulez, were both awarded a Diapason d’Or and a Grand Prix from the Deutsche Schallpaten Kritik. The next albums, devoted to Helmut Lachenmann, Misato Mochizuki and Kaija Saariaho, will come out in the upcoming months, as well as a triple album with the Late quartets by Beethoven (June 2026).
Since 2021, Quatuor Diotima finds a new base of operations in the Grand Est region of France, for its deep cultural ties with Germany and Switzerland correspond to the repertoire and partners of the quartet in the Rhine region. This residency allows the quartet to develop its Academy in collaboration with the Cité Musicale de Metz, which will take place this season from March 5 to 12.
Quatuor Diotima, due to its great interest in pedagogy and the formation of young artists, has been recently named Associated Artist in the Academy of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and gave masterclasses at UCLA, York University, the Royal Conservatory of Copenhagen, and the Central Conservatory of Beijing, the Impuls Academy in Graz…
Quatuor Diotima is frequently invited by the most prestigious halls and concert series of the world, and made many tours outside of Europe (this season: Armenia, Mexico, Colombia, China, Japan.)
Upon the celebration of its 30th birthday, Quatuor Diotima hails this season a new artistic residency, at the Theatre des Champs-Élysées, with three concerts, on December 7th, February 5th and June 7th. Among other highlights of the season, the quartet will perform in Berlin (Pierre Boulez Saal), London (Wigmore Hall), Hamburg (Elbpholharmonie), Madrid (Circulo Bellas Artes)…
The quartet will at those occasions give the world premieres of works by Ana Lara (Mexico City University), Georges Aperghis (Présence Festival – Radio France), Christian Mason and Dimitri Kourliandsky (Wittener Tage für Neue Musik)…
Quatuor Diotima is thankful to be financially supported by DRAC Grand Est, Région Grand Est, Centre National de la Musique, Maison de la Musique Contemporaine, Institut Français, SACEM, SPEDIDAM and ADAMI. Being a member of PROFEDIM, Futurs Composés, the Plateform of music of creation in Grand Est, and FEVIS, Quatuor Diotima is also artistic partner of the D’Addario brand.
