Created in 2004 and originally from Nantes, although its four musicians met during their studies at the Versailles and Cergy Conservatories, Quatuor Ellipsos quickly broadened the range of its trainers. They were taught by Paul Meyer and Eric Le Sage at the Paris Conservatory from 2006 to 2010.
During its first years of existence, Quatuor Ellipsos regularly worked with different masters such as Maurice Bourgue in Avignon, Claire Désert in Paris, Thierry Escaich at the Moulin d'Andé, and the composer Christian Lauba in Bordeaux. Just four years after its creation, Quatuor Ellipsos surprised the Parisian musical world by winning at unanimity the First Prize of the 2007 European Competition "Musiques d'Ensemble" organized by the FNAPEC, awarded by Philippe Nahon and Caroline Casadesus.
In 2008, Gaëlle le Gallic and her program Générations interprètes elected Quatuor Ellipsos "Favorite of the France Musique listeners". The following year, the French government invited Quatuor Ellipsos to perform live on France Culture from the Cour d'Honneur of the Hôtel Matignon during the Fête de la Musique 2009. Their meeting with the Academician Thierry Escaich gave rise to a true and lasting complicity.
In 2010, the composer signed the preface of the third album of Quatuor Ellipsos. The program of this album, entitled Bolero, includes two pieces by Thierry Escaich for saxophone quartet, alongside famous works by Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Pierné and Jean Francaix. In June 2015, during his installation in Jacques Taddéi's chair at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Thierry Escaich invited Quatuor Ellipsos to perform under the Dome of the Institut de France. The same summer, the organist and Quatuor Ellipsos performed together for the first time on stage at the Bach Festival of Saint-Donat, a concept regularly reproduced since then.
The most broadcasted saxophone quartet on France Musique since 2007, Quatuor Ellipsos has been the guest of numerous programs hosted by Arièle Butaux, Frédéric Lodéon, Lionel Esparza, Clément Rochefort, Vincent Josse, Stéphane Bern, Saskia de Ville, Nicolas Lafitte or Emilie Munera and Rodophe Bruneau-Boulmier. On December 5, 2017, Quatuor Ellipsos was the surprise guest of Frédéric Lodéon to celebrate his birthday in the program "Lodéon & Friends, les 25 ans", and performed from Studio 104 of Maison de la Radio, in the famous generic Overture of William Tell by Giacomo Rossini.
Quatuor Ellipsos created the event at the end of 2017 by being the very first saxophone quartet to give a prestigious recital at the Château de Versailles (Galerie des Batailles), an exceptional concert shared with the members of the Strada Quartet (Sarah Nemtanu, Lise Berthaud, Pierre Fouchenneret and François Salque). In 2015, the Gérard Billaudot publishing house entrusted Quatuor Ellipsos with an eponymous collection where its scores are published.
In 2017, the Ellipsos Quartet collaborated with the Philharmonie de Nantes (recording of a new CD - Le Choix de France Musique); their pedagogical commitment was recognized in particular by the Festival "Jeunes Talents" in Paris, which entrusted them with a carte blanche at the Archives Nationales for the students of the CNSMDP (Zahir Quartet).
The creation of the "Ellipsos" Prize at the 32nd FNAPEC European Ensemble Music Competition, rewarding the best wind ensemble of the competition, was awarded in May 2018 to the "Rafiki" Ensemble, an ensemble from the CNSMDP.
The Victoires de la Musique Classique recognized their international influence by inviting them to close the 27th Victoires ceremony live on France 3 and France Musique in George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue accompanied by Marie-Josèphe Jude on piano. They are the first saxophonists to have been invited to the Victoires de la Musique. The audiovisual services of Radio France also entrust them with the digital presentation of the saxophone family for France Musique. In 2020, the City of Parthenay awarded the Ellipsos Quartet the Medal of the City as "Ambassador of the Territory".
Quatuor Ellipsos' members: Paul-Fathi Lacombe, saxophone soprano • Julien Bréchet, saxophone alto • Sylvain Jarry, saxophone ténor • Nicolas Herrouët, saxophone baryton.
Photo credits: Paris Photo Studio - Christophe Abramowitz (Radio France 2018)
