Postcard from France: Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition

Concert des finalistes Opus 13 2 © MC Monin 2025

At the 2025 edition of the triennial Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, Charlotte Gardner was delighted to hear a dazzlingly high standard of music making

The finals of an international music competition are thrilling, but the earlier rounds also hold an arguably even more exciting moment: when you first encounter an artist who appears set to progress all the way to the finals, and you sense that everyone else in the hall feels it too. With any luck, such a moment will occur at least once; yet at the semi-finals of the 2025 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition (held 19–25 May)…

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