Emerson String Quartet

Emerson String Quartet
The Emerson String Quartet in 2014
Background information
Also known as The Emerson Quartet
Origin New York City, United States
Genres Classical
Occupation(s) String quartet
Instruments 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello
Years active 1976–present
Labels Deutsche Grammophon, New World, Sony Classical
Website www.emersonquartet.com
Members Eugene Drucker
Philip Setzer
Lawrence Dutton
Paul Watkins
Past members Guillermo Figueroa
Eric Wilson
David Finckel

The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet,[1] is a professional string ensemble – in residence at the Stony Brook University.[2] During the 1980s[3] the musical ensemble was in residence at The Hartt School located in West Hartford, Connecticut.[4] Choosing American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson as namesake, the quartet formed at the Juilliard School as a student ensemble. They turned professional in 1976, with both of their violinists having studied under the tutelage of the renowned Oscar Shumsky, alternating as first and second violinists. When it was formed, the Emerson Quartet was one of the first with the two violinists alternating chairs.[5]

The Emerson Quartet was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2010.[6] As of May 2014, they have released more than thirty albums and won nine Grammy Awards, as well as the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize.[7][8][9]

Members

Long-time cellist David Finckel was replaced at the end of the 2012/13 concert season by Paul Watkins.[10] Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim of The New York Times wrote:

One of the characteristics of the Emerson Quartet is that its players (the violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer and the violist Lawrence Dutton in addition, now, to Mr. Watkins) all have the ability and the instruments to produce a sweet and glossy sound — but do so sparingly. Instead, they establish a chromatic scale of timbres that range from dry and tart over clean and zesty all the way to lustrous and singing. Listening to them pass tiny rhythmic motifs around the group, I was struck by how evenly calibrated these timbres were.[11]

Additionally,

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: The “old” Emerson String Quartet never phoned one in. But this new group — Mr. Watkins alongside the violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, and the violist Lawrence Dutton — complemented their customary power, finesse and unanimity with a fresh, palpable vigor at Tully, and it was electrifying.[12]

Awards and recognition

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:

  • 1989 Bartók: 6 String Quartets
  • 2000 Shostakovich: The String Quartets

In 2002 the Quartet were the Music Directors of the Ojai Music Festival. They also played for the Oscar nominated short film, The Little Match Girl. They have also won the Avery Fisher Prize, and in 2010, were inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame, with a ceremony held in 2011.[7] In January 2015, the Quartet received the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, the highest award in the classical chamber music world.[13]

Recordings

  • Volume I - Dvorák: Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 "American;" Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E "From My Life." (1990) Book of the Month Records
  • Volume II - Brahms: Quartet No. 1 in c, Op. 51; Schumann: Quartet in A, Op. 41, No. 3 (1990) Book of the Month Records
  • Volume III - Borodin: Quartet No. 2 in D; Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1 in D, Op.11 (1990) Book of the Month Records
  • Volume IV - Debussy: Quartet in g, Op. 10; Ravel: Quartet in F Major. (1990) Book of the Month Records
  • Piston: Concerto for String Quartet, Winds and Percussion (1990) Composers Recording Inc
  • Cowell: Quartet Euphometric; Harris: Three Variations on a Theme (Quartet No. 2) (1990) New World
  • Imbrie: Quartet No. 4; Schuller: Quartet No. 2 (1990) New World
  • Beethoven: Quartet in F, Op. 135; Schubert: Quartet in G, D. 887 (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Dvorák: Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 "American"; Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E, "From My Life." (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Debussy: Quartet in g, Op. 10; Ravel: Quartet in F (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1 in D, Op. 11; Borodin: Quartet No. 2 in D (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mozart: Quartet in B-flat, K. 458 "Hunt"; Quartet in C, K. 465 "Dissonance"; Haydn: Quartet in C, Op. 76, No. 3 "Emperor (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Brahms: Quartet No. 1 in c, Op. 51; Schumann: Quartet in A, Op. 41, No. 3 (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Beethoven: Quartet in f, Op. 95; Schubert: Quartet No. 14 in d, D. 810 "Death and the Maiden" (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Bartók: Complete String Quartets (1990) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mozart: The "Haydn" Quartets (complete) (1992) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mozart: The Flute Quartets with Carol Wincenc (1992) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Prokofiev: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2/Sonata for 2 Violins (1992) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Schubert: String Quintet in C, D. 956 with Mstislav Rostropovich (1992) Deutsche Grammophon
  • American Originals: String Quartets of Ives and Barber (1993) Deutsche Grammophon
  • American Contemporaries: Harbison, Wernick, and Schuller (1994) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Dvorák: Quartet in E-flat, Op. 87; Quintet in A, Op. 81 with Menahem Pressler (1994) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mozart: String Quartet in G, K. 387; String Quartet in d, K. 421 (1995) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Webern: Works for String Quartet/String Trio Op. 20 (1995) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Schumann Piano Quintet Op. 44/ Piano Quartet Op. 47 with Menahem Pressler (1996) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Beethoven: The String Quartets (Complete) (1997) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Beethoven: Key to the Quartets (1997) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Meyer: String Quintet/Rorem: String Quartet No. 4 with Edgar Meyer (1998) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Music of Curt Cacioppo: "Monsterslayer") (1998) Capstone Records
  • Schubert: String Quintet; Late Quartets (1999) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mozart/Brahms: Clarinet Quintets with David Shifrin (1999) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Shostakovich: The String Quartets (complete) (2000) Deutsche Grammophon
  • The Haydn Project (2001) Deutsche Grammophon
  • The Emerson Encores (2002) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (2003) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Haydn: The Seven Last Words of our Savior on the Cross, Op. 51 (2004) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mendelssohn: The Complete String Quartets (2005) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Intimate Voices (2006) Deutsche Grammophon
  • The Little Match Girl (2007) Disney
  • Brahms: String Quartets (2007) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Bach Fugues (2008) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Intimate Letters (2009) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Old World-New World (Dvorak) with Paul Neubauer (2010) Deutsche Grammophon
  • Mozart: The Prussian Quartets (2011) Sony Classical
  • Journeys: Tchaikovsky, Schönberg (2013) Sony Classical
  • Berg: Lyric Suite; Wellesz: Sonnets By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (2015) Decca
  • Emerson String Quartet: The Complete DG Recordings (2016) Deutsche Grammophon (52 CDs)
  • Chaconnes And Fantasias - Music Of Britten And Purcell (2017) Decca

See also

References

  1. ↑ Church, Michael. "Emerson String Quartet, St John’s, Smith Square, London, review: Thrilling performance of ineffable Beethoven fugue", The Independent (November 6, 2017).
  2. ↑ "Emerson String Quartet". hope.edu. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Chamber Music". www.hartford.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  4. ↑ "History of The Hartt School". hartford.edu. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Emerson String Quartet". Carnegie Hall. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ "View Inductees: Emerson String Quartet". classicalwalkoffame.org. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Emerson String Quartet". smithsonianassociates.org. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Huizenga, Tom. "The Emerson Quartet At (Le) Poisson Rouge". NPR.org. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Dischel, Robert S. (2000). Converging Lines: The Extraordinary Story of the Emerson String Quartet's First 25 Years. London: Risk Waters Group. ISBN 1-899332-68-5.
  10. ↑ "Emerson String Quartet Announces Departure Of Cellist David Finckel | Emerson String Quartet". Emersonquartet.com. February 14, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  11. ↑ da Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna (August 22, 2013). "The Emerson Quartet Plays the Mostly Mozart Festival". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  12. ↑ Smith, Steve (March 25, 2014). "Emerson String Quartet Plays Shostakovich at Tully Hall". NY Times. New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Emerson String Quartet Set to Receive Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award". Emerson String Quartet. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
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