MENDELSSOHN: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13
MOZART: Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581
Founded in 2005, the Chiaroscuro Quartet is made up of violinists Alina Ibragimova and Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux, violist Emilie Hörnlund and cellist Claire Thirion. Described by Gramophone as “a pioneer of authentic performance of late Classical chamber music”, this international ensemble performs repertoire from the Classical and early Romantic periods using gut strings and historical bows. The quartet’s distinctive sound, described by The Observer as “a shock to the ears of the best kind”, has won great acclaim from audiences and critics throughout Europe.
Recent additions to their growing discography include Beethoven’s Op. 74 and Op. 130, Mozart’s Prussian Quartets and Haydn’s Op. 33, while future projects include Beethoven’s Razumovsky Quartets.
The ensemble’s chamber music partners include renowned artists such as Kristian Bezuidenhout, Trevor Pinnock, Jonathan Cohen, Nicolas Baldeyrou, Chen Halevi, Malcolm Bilson, Matthew Hunt, Christian Poltéra, Cédric Tiberghien and Christophe Coin.
During the 2025/26 season, they continue their regular appearances at Wigmore Hall in London and the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, with performances at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Philharmonie Luxembourg and Barbican Centre. The quartet will also return to Japan to begin a complete Beethoven cycle at Oji Hall, continuing into the 2026/27 season.
Recent highlights include a tour of the United States and appearances at the Edinburgh International Festival, Beethoven-Haus Bonn and the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
The Chiaroscuro Quartet thanks the Jumpstart Jr Foundation for the generous loan of an Amati workshop violin from the Sparey Collection.
In recent years, French clarinettist Nicolas Baldeyrou has firmly established himself as one of the most outstanding soloists of his generation. Following a unique path through today’s musical landscape, this “concert artist equipped for any challenge”, as described by Diapason, displays a mastery and versatility that transcend periods and styles, moving effortlessly across a wide range of repertoire on both historical and modern instruments.
Winning prestigious competitions including the ARD Competition in Munich, the Dos Hermanas Competition in Seville and the ICA Young Artist Competition in the United States opened the doors to some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Wiener Konzerthaus, Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
As a soloist, he is regularly invited to perform with renowned orchestras including the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Czech Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia and Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Having begun his career at a very young age, he had the opportunity to work with legendary conductors including Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink and Kurt Masur. Today, Nicolas performs with Myung-Whun Chung, Alain Altinoglu, Pablo Heras-Casado, Mikko Franck and Fabien Gabel.
His encounters with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Sir Roger Norrington marked a decisive turning point in his musical life, naturally leading him towards historical instruments and an ongoing search for greater authenticity in historically informed performance. More recently, Nicolas has appeared as a soloist on period instruments with Les Musiciens du Louvre under Marc Minkowski and Le Concert de la Loge conducted by Julien Chauvin.
His repertoire is particularly diverse, ranging from Baroque concertos to chamber music and contemporary works.
Nicolas Baldeyrou graduated from the CNSMD in Paris, where he studied with Michel Arrignon, Jérôme Julien-Laferrière and Jean-Noël Crocq for bass clarinet. He has held the clarinet chair at the CNSM in Lyon since 2007, has taught at the Conservatoire de Versailles since 2025 and has been a visiting professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland since 2019.
He is also closely involved in research and development with the renowned woodwind manufacturer Buffet Crampon, for which he has served as an ambassador and tester since 2006. Nicolas is also a Vandoren Artist.
Photo © Joss McKinley
