Quatuor Citadelle

Raphaël Garac, violin
Meiko Nakahira, violin
Paolo Schena, viola
Pauline Boudon, cello

Founded in 2024, the Quatuor Citadelle brings together French and Japanese musicians. It takes its name from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Citadelle, a work in which the citadel draws its meaning from the bonds between people.

The quartet trained at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris with Jean Sulem and François Salque, and in Miguel da Silva’s cycle concertiste at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Paris. It has also received guidance from members of the Ébène, Modigliani, Belcea and Strada quartets, as well as Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet), Eugene Drucker (Emerson String Quartet), Marc Coppey (Quatuor Ysaÿe) and Kim Kashkashian. An ensemble in residence with ProQuartet – Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre, it is also part of the MERITA platform through the MERITAcubed project.

Since its formation, the quartet has appeared at festivals across France, including the Festival de La Chaise-Dieu, the Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron, the Rencontres Musicales de La Baule & du Pays Blanc, the Festival de Musique de Chambre d’Arcachon, the Festival de Pontlevoy and Les Musicales de l’abbaye du Thoronet. It has shared the stage with Miguel da Silva, François Salque, Louis Rodde and Manuel Vioque-Judde.

The Quatuor Citadelle also performs regularly for young audiences. In September 2025, it presented a children’s performance centred on Ravel’s string quartet at the Parc de Bagatelle. In spring 2026, it took part in a Musethica session in the Netherlands in partnership with the Zeist Music Days. The programme brings classical music to people who rarely have access to it, including people in prison, children with disabilities and patients.

After meeting Michaël Levinas at the Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron in 2025, the quartet inspired the composer to begin writing a work for the ensemble, with its premiere planned for spring 2027. In 2024, the Quatuor Citadelle received the special “Les Cordes en Ballade” prize, offered by the Quatuor Debussy at the FNAPEC Concours européen Musiques d’Ensemble.

From the 2026–2027 season, the Quatuor Citadelle is an Artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, under the direction of Corina Belcea, Miguel da Silva and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden.

Last updated: 2 October 2026