Quatuor Agate

Biography

Adrien Jurkovic, violin
Juliette Beauchamp, violin
Raphael Pagnon, viola
Simon Iachemet, violoncello

Formed in 2016, the Quatuor Agate derives its name from one of the most beautiful chamber music pieces, Johannes Brahms’s Second Sextet, dedicated to his second love, Agathe von Siebold.

Seven years later, this fascination with Brahms materialised with the release of their debut album in early 2024, featuring the complete String Quartets released on the Appassionato label.

Distinguished in various international competitions and festivals for several years (including the Best Contemporary Interpretation Prize at the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition, Audience Prize at the Steels-Wilsing Competition 2020, and in the Verbier Festival 2019), the Quatuor Agate achieved a significant milestone in 2021 when they were a winner in the auditions of the prestigious Young Classical Artists Trust in London.

In 2023 the Quatuor Agate were honoured to be named as ECHO Rising Stars 2024/25, performing at the majority of Europe’s major concert halls including the Philharmonie de Paris, the Barbican, Kölner Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus Dortmund.

Recent highlights have included performances at renowned venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Prinzregententheater in Munich, Konzerthaus Berlin, TauberPhilharmonie in Weikersheim, Brucknerhaus Linz, as well as participating in festivals like Verbier Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Festival de Salon- de-Provence, Festival de Radio France, Britten-Pears Arts in Aldeburgh, Mecklenburg- Vorpommern Festival and Lammermuir Festival in Scotland, among others.

Further afield they had their debut tour of Colombia in early 2024, made their debut at Leif Ove Andsnes’ Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway, and returned to the Wigmore Hall in London.

The start of the 2025/26 season sees the quartet embark on a tour of the US and Canada, playing in Oregon, New York and Virginia before rounding it off at the Canadian Opera in Toronto.

In Europe they return to the Philharmonie de Paris and Wigmore Hall. Looking further ahead, they will tour Mexico in March 2026 and take up residencies in Weikersheim in Germany and at UKARIA in Australia with soprano Siobhan Stagg.

In addition to their recording of the complete Brahms’ quartets, other releases include a recording with Frank Braley and Gabriel Le Magadure featuring Concert de Chausson for Appassionato, and an album with American tenor Eric Ferring in Chicago for the Delos label.

The group is passionate about bringing chamber music to diverse audiences, and just a few weeks after the quartet’s inception, they embarked on their first venture – the creation of the CorsiClassic festival, an annual event in Ajaccio, Corsica.

Currently, the Quartet is a Resident of the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff in Paris, and Associate Artist at the La Brèche Festival. The Agates receive support from ProQuartet the Günther Caspar-Stiftung, the Fondation Singer-Polignac and the Fondation Banque Populaire.

They studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Eberhard Feltz, in Paris under the direction of Mathieu Herzog, and with the Quatuor Ebène at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich.

Adrien Jurkovic performs on a violin attributed to Giuseppe Giovanni Guarneri, generously loaned to him by Dr. Hauber.

May 2026. Please discard any previously dated materials.