For more than 20 years, the “superb and intensely focused” (The New York Times) Quatuor Ébène has been taking audiences on a remarkable journey of musical discovery. The French ensemble is known for both white-hot intensity and cultivating a striking palette of expressive colors through a fluid, organic sense of blend and balance. In its Cal Performances debut, the group plays Mozart’s ebullient Quartet No. 21 from his Prussian set; Grieg’s lone completed quartet, a work of striking originality and energy; and Schnittke’s kinetic and intense String Quartet No. 3 from 1983. “They appear to have thrown away the semantic rulebook to create fresh, compelling sound worlds from the roots up” (The Strad).