The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. The double bass is almost never used in the ensemble mainly because it would sound too loud and heavy.
The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet, was an American string quartet initially formed as a student group at the Juilliard School in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and began touring professionally in 1976. The ensemble taught in residence at The Hartt School in the 1980s and is currently the quartet in residence at Stony Brook University. Both of the founding violinists studied with Oscar Shumsky at Juilliard, and the two alternated as first and second violinists for the group. The Emerson Quartet was one of the first such ensembles with the two violinists alternating chairs.
Jörgen van Rijen is Principal Trombone at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) in Amsterdam. He is also a founding member of the Dutch trombone ensemble, New Trombone Collective, and Professor of Trombone at the Amsterdam Conservatory.
The Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music ensemble founded in Chicago, United States in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin. The Quartet has recorded over 200 works and has toured internationally for 78 years, making it one of the longest enduring major string quartets. In its history, the Quartet has had two leaders: Leonard Sorkin, from 1946 to 1981, and Ralph Evans, from 1982 to the present. Its current members are violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, and cellist Niklas Schmidt.
The Pacifica Quartet is a professional string quartet based in Bloomington, Indiana. Its members are: Simin Ganatra, first violin; Austin Hartman, second violin; Mark Holloway, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello. Formed in 1994 by Ganatra and Vamos with violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson and violist Kathryn Lockwood, the group won prizes in competitions such as the 1996 Coleman Chamber Music Competition, the 1997 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and the 1998 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. In 2001, violist Masumi Per Rostad replaced Lockwood. The group subsequently received Chamber Music America's prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award in 2002, the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2006, and was named "Ensemble of the Year" by Musical America in 2009. In 2017, violinist Austin Hartman replaced Bernhardsson and violist Guy Ben-Ziony replaced Rostad.
Frédéric Devreese was a Belgian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber and piano works that have been performed throughout the world; he was also active as a conductor. Devreese is known for his film scores, including Benvenuta by André Delvaux and The Cruel Embrace by Marion Hänsel.
The Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) is an American organization of musicians located in Boston, Massachusetts and dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. The organization performs works from the Baroque era to the present day. The organization is led by artistic director Marcus Thompson and managing director Wen Huang.
David Finckel is an American cellist and influential figure in the classical music world. The cellist for the Emerson String Quartet from 1979 to 2013, Finckel is currently the co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York, co-founder of the independent record label ArtistLed, co-artistic director and co-founder of Music@Menlo in Silicon Valley, producer of Cello Talks, professor of cello at The Juilliard School, and visiting professor of music at Stony Brook University.
Nicolas Altstaedt is a German-French cellist. His versatile career incorporates solo performance, chamber music, conducting, and artistic programming, with a repertoire spanning from early music to the contemporary.
The Signum Quartet is a string quartet based in Bremen, Germany. Founded in 1994, it has been playing in the current formation since 2016.
The Casals Quartet is a Spanish string quartet based at l'Auditori in Barcelona, where all four members reside and teach at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya.
The Pražák Quartet is a Czech string quartet established in 1974. It is one of the Czech Republic's premiere chamber ensembles. It was founded while its members were still students at Prague Conservatory (1974–1978). The quartet was awarded First Prize at the Evian International Competition in 1978 and the Prague Spring Festival Prize in 1979 with second places not being awarded at both the competitions to indicate the difference in level.
Bernard Zaslav was an American viola soloist and chamber musician with an extensive recording and performance career. A founding member of The Composers Quartet in 1965, he went on to play with the Fine Arts Quartet, Vermeer Quartet, and the Stanford String Quartet. He has also performed and recorded as the Zaslav Duo with his wife, pianist Naomi Zaslav.
The Calidore String Quartet is an internationally performing classical music string quartet based in New York City. The Calidore is composed of violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry and cellist Estelle Choi.
Noa Wildschut is a Dutch concert violinist.
Günter Kehr was a German violinist, conductor and academic teacher of violin and chamber music. He founded the Kehr Trio, a string trio, and the Mainzer Kammerorchester, a chamber orchestra, and toured internationally with both ensembles. Kehr was director of the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz from 1953, and professor at the Musikhochschule Köln.
Antje Weithaas is a German classical violinist. Apart from solo recitals and chamber music performances, she has played with leading orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States.
The Danish String Quartet made its debut at the Copenhagen Summer Festival in 2002. The group is known for its performances of classical music as well as its own renditions of traditional Nordic folk music. The quartet has also worked with an extensive range of contemporary Scandinavian composers.
The Kuss Quartet with Jana Kuss (violin), Oliver Wille (violin), William Coleman (viola) and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan (cello) is a Berlin-based string quartet. It was founded in 1991 at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" by the two violinists of the ensemble and has been playing in its current formation since 2008.
Andreas Frölich is a German pianist and teacher at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.
