Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45

Following an invitation from Saint-Saëns, Fauré joined the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871. Here he became acquainted with Franck, D’Indy, Bizet and other prominent French musicians. The Society set itself the mission of promoting French music and offering a forum for the circulation of orchestral and chamber works. The Society was to have a great influence on Fauré. In an interview in 1922, he spoke “The truth is that, before 1870, I would not have dreamt of composing a sonata or quartet. Only when Saint- Saëns founded the Société did I set about doing so.” And in fact almost all Fauré's chamber works had their premieres under the auspices of the Société Nationale de Musique

Kathryn Stott is an internationally acknowledged interpreter of Fauré’s piano music. BBC Music Magazine recently wrote, ‘Kathryn Stott reinforces her position as one of the finest Fauré interpreters of her generation’. She has also been behind several major festivals and concert series. For her involvement in ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government.

She has long wished to record Fauré’s hauntingly beautiful two piano quartets, but was looking for the right ensemble. She has found that in the form of the Hermitage String Trio, a group she has toured with on a number of occasions. The Strad recently wrote of the group, "This ensemble will do much to put more string trio repertory on the musical map" The quartets are presented with the solo piano work, Nocturne No.4; a unique combination and fresh interpretations, recorded in warm Chandos sound.

Founded in 2004, The Hermitage String Trio soon established itself as among the finest ensembles of its type. Steeped in the renowned Russian tradition of string playing, the members of this European-based Russian trio possess a love of chamber music that shines through in their programmes.

Gabriel Fauré was a remarkable pianist who included his instrument in almost all his compositions, but seldom as a soloist: he preferred to combine it with chamber ensembles to produce the intimate atmosphere he so favoured. Until the early 1870s, Parisian musical life revolved around opera, to the detriment of instrumental works. Existing institutions paid little attention to the scores of young French composers.The Société Nationale de Musique, founded in 1871 and presided by Camille Saint-Saëns and Romain Bussine, set itself the mission of promoting French music and offering a forum for the dissemination of orchestral and chamber works. Its founder members also included César Franck, Lalo, d'Indy, Duparc, Massenet, and Fauré, who became secretary in 1874. In an interview with Le Petit Parisien in 1922, he spoke of the importance of the Société: “The truth is that, before 1870, I would not have dreamt of composing a sonata or a quartet. Only when Saint-Saëns founded the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871, whose primary aim was to put on works by young composers, did I set about doing so.” And in fact almost all Fauré's chamber works had their premieres under the auspices of the SNM: the two violin sonatas, their counterparts for cello and piano, the piano quartets, the First Piano Quintet, and the Piano Trio.

Since 1999, the Trio Wanderer has released, on the Le Chant du Monde and harmonia mundi labels, a series of recordings that have received a warm welcome from the press. Born in 1979,Antoine Tamestit studied with the Tokyo Quartet at Yale University and Tabea Zimmermann in Berlin. He was a BBC New Generation Artist (2005-07) and a Borletti- Buitoni Trust scholarship holder in 2006. He made his debut at the Lucerne Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti in 2008. The Berlin Konzerthaus has offered him a residency in 2009/10. He will premiere in several cities (Berlin, Vienna, Graz, London) a concerto written for him by Olga Neuwirth.

Between 1875 and his death in 1924, Fauré produced ten or so compositions that are among the jewels of the French chamber repertoire, written at a time when opera and symphonic music were the predominant genres.

The international artist Eric Le Sage, who is a specialist in this repertoire, continues his exploration of the complete chamber music with piano of Gabriel Fauré, accompanied by a fine team of first-rate artists.This second volume, expertly recorded by Jean-Marc Laisné in the wonderful setting of the MC2 Auditorium in Grenoble, shows extraordinary energy and elegance. The first volume was awarded the highest ratings by the music magazine Classica in December 2011.