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 BANFF International String Quartet Competition 2022, 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 prestigious auditions of the Young Classical Artists Trust in London.

In 2023 the Quatuor Agate were honoured to be named as ECHO Rising Stars 2024/25, and during this season under the scheme will perform at the majority of Europe's major concert halls including the Philharmonie de Paris, Kölner Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Other highlights this season include their debut at Leif Ove Andsnes’ Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway, and returns to the Wigmore Hall in London. Recent highlights have included performances at renowned venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Prinzregententheater in Munich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Dortmund, 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, Leverkusen stART Festival, 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.

The quartet regularly collaborates with esteemed musicians and ensembles, including Emmanuel Pahud, Enrico Pace, Éric Le Sage, Frank Braley, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Marc Danel, Gabriel Le Magadure, Pierre Fouchenneret, the Kronos Quartet, the Quatuor Ebène, the Quatuor Modigliani, and the Jerusalem Quartet. 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 are 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 an Artist-in-residence at the Fondation Singer Polignac, a Grand Resident of ProQuartet in Paris, and an Associate Artist at the La Brèche Festival. The Agates receive support from the Günther-Caspar Stiftung and the Fondation Banque Populaire.

The quartet has 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 by Dr. Hauber.

Thomas Descamps plays a very fine Giovanni Battista Ceruti violin kindly loaned to him by Irene R. Miller through the Beares International Violin Society.