The Ysaÿe Quartet will wrap up Lee University’s 2011-12 Presidential Concert Series with a performance Wednesday. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Squires Recital Hall in the Humanities Center on the Cleveland, Tenn., campus.
The quartet, often labeled as one of Europe’s finest ensembles, was formed in 1984 while its members were students at the Paris Conservatoire. It is named after violinist and composer Eugene Ysaÿe (1858-1931), a powerful influence in advancing chamber music in France.
The Ysaÿe Quartet gained international recognition when it became the first French quartet ever to win the Grand Prize at the Evian International String Quartet Competition in 1988. The musicians appear regularly in the United States, Asia and Europe.
In 2003 the Ysaÿe Quartet founded its own record label, and their most recent releases feature repertoire by Haydn, Schumann, Mozart, Faurè, Beethoven and Franck.
The members of the Ysaÿe Quartet are on the faculty of the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where they have established a special class for string quartets.
Tickets will be available at the campus box office in the Dixon Center or by phone at 423-614-8343 between 3 and 6 p.m. in the days leading up to the concert.
For more information, call the School of Music at 423-614-8240 or e-mail music@leeuniversity.edu.