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The Toronto String Quartette (TSQ) was the name of three un-related professional Canadian string quartets based in Toronto, Ontario. [1]
The first Toronto String Quartette was formed in 1884 by the newly established Toronto Quartette Club (TQC), an organization dedicated to increasing public enthusiasm for chamber music. The original group consisted of violinists Henri Jacobsen and John Bayley, violist Carl Martens, and a Mr Kuhn on cello. The ensemble’s first performances were in the Winter of 1884 in a series of five concerts presented by the TQC. A similar concert series was mounted the following season with the quartet being joined by F.H. Torrington, A.E. Fisher, a Mr Haslam, and a Mr Daniels in performances of Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings among other works. [1]
In the 1885-1886 season, this TSQ underwent some personnel changes with Fisher replacing Martens on the viola and Ludwig Corell assuming the role of cellist. That season the quartet presented a series of twelve popular concerts on Monday nights with repertoire including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, and Robert Schumann among others. Also on the program were piano trios by Hummel and Reissiger with Martens on piano, the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with New York clarinetist Herr Kegel as a guest performer, and guest performances by Teresa Carreño and Emma Juch. [1]
In spite of the TSQ’s popularity, the group suffered from financial difficulties. In 1886 the Chamber Music Association (CMA) was established by music publisher Abraham Nordheimer among other Toronto citizens to ensure the quartet’s continuation. The CMA sponsored the 1886-1887 season which included a series of six concerts at Shaftesbury Hall. Unfortunately, the ensemble did not survive beyond this season as Corell and Jacobsen both moved to the United States, forcing the quartet to dissolve in September 1887. [1]
The second Toronto String Quartette was a short-lived ensemble that performed in Toronto in 1894. John Bayley of the first TSQ was the group’s first violinist with Messrs Anderson, Napolitano, and Dinelli rounding out the group. The group’s performances were reviewed in the Musical Courier. [1]
The third and final Toronto String Quartette was formed in 1906 with Frank Blachford as the first violin, Roland Roberts on second violin, violist Frank Converse Smith, and cellist Frederic Nicolai. The group gave its first performance on 23 January 1907. Blachford was the only member to stay with the group for its entire duration. Other members included second violinists Benedict Clarke (1914–1923), Erland Misener (1923), and Albert Aylward (1924); violists Alfred Bruce (1923) and Erland Misener (1924); and cellist Leo Smith (1914-mid-1920s). The group disbanded briefly for the 1916-17 season but was then active again through at least 1925. [1]
The TSQ performed an annual concert series in Toronto and toured to other cities and towns in Ontario. They also performed private concerts in the homes of wealthy people in Toronto, Buffalo, and other cities. In 1909 they gave a special concert for the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. The ensemble performed a broad repertoire that encompassed classical, romantic, and 20th century works, including the Canadian premieres of works by Ernő Dohnányi, Edward Elgar, and Alexander Glazunov among others. A number of notable pianists appeared as guest artists with the quartet, including Ernest MacMillan, Paul Wells, Frank Welsman, and Healey Willan. [1]
The Amadeus Quartet was a world-famous string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, remarkable for having retained its founding members throughout its long history.
The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman. The original members were violinists Robert Mann and Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer and cellist Arthur Winograd. Current members are violinists Areta Zhulla and Ronald Copes, violist Roger Tapping, and cellist Astrid Schween. Areta Zhulla most recently joined the quartet, replacing Joseph Lin in September 2018. Joseph Lin had previously joined the Quartet in 2011 after Nick Eanet resigned in 2010 for failing health. Former second violinist, later first after Mann's retirement, Joel Smirnoff left the quartet after its 2008-2009 season to become president of the Cleveland Institute of Music. Since the Quartet's inception in 1946, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. It has received numerous awards, including four Grammys and membership in the National Academy Recording Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame. In February 2011, the group received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award for its outstanding contributions to recorded classical music.
The Brentano Quartet is an American string quartet. Founded in 1992 at the Juilliard School, its founding members were violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violist Misha Amory, and cellist Michael Kannen. At the suggestion of Canin's husband, a pianist, the quartet took its name from Antonie Brentano, who has been proposed as Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved".
The Shanghai Quartet is a string quartet that formed in 1983. The quartet is made up of: first violinist Weigang Li, second violinist Angelo Xiang Yu, violist Honggang Li, and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras. On November 20, 2020 the ensemble announced the newest member, Angelo Xiang Yu. The Shanghai Quartet accepted the resignation of former second violinist Yi-Wen Jiang on March 17, 2020. The group's tours have included North America, South America, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Among their performances, the Shanghai Quartet has developed a long list of performance collaborators including Yo-Yo Ma, David Soyer, Eugenia Zukerman, Sharon Isbin, Ruth Laredo, Arnold Steinhardt, and Chanticleer.
The Hollywood String Quartet (HSQ) was an American string quartet founded by violinist/conductor Felix Slatkin and his wife cellist Eleanor Aller. The Hollywood String Quartet is considered to be the first American-born and trained classical music chamber group to make an international impact, mainly through its landmark recordings. These recordings have long been regarded as among the most outstanding recorded performances of the string quartet repertoire.
The Clinton String Quartet is a string quartet based in the Syracuse, New York area. Active for over 15 years, their most prominent works have been the debuts of many 20th century classical recordings with the Syracuse Society for New Music. All four members are also members of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.
The Audubon Quartet (1974-2011) was an American string quartet based at residencies at Marywood College in Scranton, Pennsylvania (1974-1979) and at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia (1980-2001).
Harlem Quartet is a string quartet that was originally composed of first-place laureates of the Sphinx Competition for Black and Latino string players. They were formed in 2006. The members are first violinist Ilmar Gavilán, second violinist Melissa White, violist Jaime Amador, and cellist Felix Umansky. The Quartet won Best Instrumental Composition at the 2013 Grammy Awards for Mozart Goes Dancing.
The Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber music series. They are named after the Borromean Islands.
Terence Weil was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music.
The Conservatory String Quartet (CSQ) was a Canadian string quartet in residence at The Royal Conservatory of Music during the first half of the 20th century. The group actively performed in the Toronto area and regularly toured throughout the Province of Ontario. The quartet also notably toured to Montreal in 1942 and 1943. The ensemble performed not only the standard string quartet repertoire but also performed new works by contemporary Canadian composers like Patricia Blomfield Holt, Walter MacNutt, and John Weinzweig. The ensemble was also heard many times on CBC Radio but never produced any recordings.
Allard de Ridder was a Dutch–Canadian conductor, violist, and composer. He was notably the first conductor of both the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the latter of which he founded in 1944. As a composer he produced several orchestral works, including a violin concerto, four symphonic poems, a Sketch for flute, violin, and orchestra, Overture in D, and Intermezzo. He also wrote a string quartet, the scherzo Beware of Love for a cappella choir, and a number of songs.
The Dubois String Quartet was a Canadian string quartet that actively performed for 28 consecutive seasons from 1910 to 1938. The ensemble was founded and led by cellist Jean-Baptiste Dubois who was the only member of the group to play in every season. The other original members were violinists Albert Chamberland and Alphonse Dansereau and violist Eugene Schneider. Later members included violinists Eugène Chartier, René Gagnier, and Lucien Martin. Later members included violist Joseph Mastrocola and violinists Eugène Chartier, René Gagnier, Lucien Martin, Maurice Onderet, and Lucien Sicotte. The quartet was disbanded upon Dubois' death in July 1938.
Brooklyn Rider is an American string quartet, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, whose members include violinists Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Michael Nicolas. They are mainly known for playing unusual and contemporary repertoire, and for collaborating with musicians from outside the classical music sphere. The quartet has founded the Stillwater Music Festival in 2006 to serve as a place to unveil new repertory and collaborations; the festival's last concerts were held in 2015. Brooklyn Rider also spends time teaching, including past residencies at Denison University, Dartmouth College, Williams College, MacPhail Center for the Arts, Texas A&M University and University of North Carolina.
The Curtis String Quartet was an American string quartet based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Busch Quartet was a string quartet founded by Adolf Busch in 1919 that was particularly noted for its interpretations of the Classical and Romantic quartet repertoire. The group's recordings of Beethoven's Late String Quartets are especially revered.
Eric Jacobsen is an American conductor and cellist. He is currently a member of Brooklyn Rider, The Knights, and the Silk Road Project, and is the Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, and an artistic partner of the Northwest Sinfonietta.
Bertha Drechsler Adamson was a Scottish-born Canadian violinist, educator and conductor.
Frank Edward Blachford was a Canadian violinist, teacher, conductor and composer.
The Blair String Quartet is the string quartet-in-residence at the Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University, currently consisting of violinists Cornelia Heard and Stephen Miahky, violist John Kochanowski, and cellist Felix Wang. They perform frequently at Blair, and have also performed at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, and the Weill Recital Hall. In 1980 the Blair Quartet consisted of violinists Christian Teal and Lee Joiner, violist Kathryn Plummer, and cellist David Vanderkool as members. Prior members also include cellist Grace Mihi Bahng. Stephen Clapp was lead violinist from 1967-72.
