The Gewandhaus Quartet (German: Gewandhaus-Quartett) is a string quartet based in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. It was founded in 1808 by members of the Gewandhaus Orchester, as one of the first professional quartets in the world. In its more than 200-year history, they played many world premieres.

History

In 1808, members of the Gewandhaus Orchester formed a string quartet, possibly following the model of the

Schuppanzigh Quartet The Schuppanzigh Quartet was a string quartet formed in Vienna in the 1790s by the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh. It continued, with breaks and changes of members, for many years. Schuppanzigh was a close friend and admirer of Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

from Vienna, to play quartets mainly by

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

, Mozart and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

. Since then, it has been formed by

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

s and players of the orchestra.

Players

The original players were Heinrich August Matthäi (1781–1835), who is considered the quartet's founder,

Bartolomeo Campagnoli Bartolomeo Campagnoli (September 10, 1751 – November 6, 1827) was an Italian violinist and composer. Campagnoli was a virtuoso violinist who toured Europe propagating the 18th Century Italian violin style. He also has a number of compositions t ...

(1751–1827), who was

at the time, violist

Johann Georg Hermann Voigt Johann Georg Hermann Voigt (14 May 1769 – 24 February 1811) was a German organist, cellist, violist and composer. Life Born in Osterwieck, Voigt was the son of Stadtmusikus' C. C. Voigt from the town of Osterwieck in the northern Harz fore ...

(1769–1811) and cellist Friedrich Dotzauer (1783–1860). After Matthäi died in 1835, Ferdinand David (1810–1873) succeeded him, both as quartet primariu and as concertmaster. Gewandhaus-Quartett

In the course of its 200-year history, which was interrupted only shortly after the Second World War, the quartet had over 100 members. Important members were Carl Traugott Queisser (1800–1846),

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

(1831–1907),

Engelbert Röntgen Engelbert Röntgen (30 September 1829 – 12 December 1897)Obituary
''

(1829–1897),

Julius Klengel Julius Klengel (24 September 1859 – 27 October 1933) was a German cellist who is most famous for his études and solo pieces written for the instrument. He was the brother of Paul Klengel. A member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig at f ...

(1859–1933), Gerhard Bosse (1922–2012) and Karl Suske (born in 1934). In addition, the quartet has performed with important other soloists, including

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

, Johannes Brahms,

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of B ...

. As of 2020 the members are: *

Frank-Michael Erben Frank-Michael Erben (born 7 September 1965) is a German violinist and conductor. He is the first concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and plays the first violin in the Gewandhaus Quartet. Life Erben was born in 1965 in Leipzig as t ...

* Conrad Suske * Anton Jivaev * Léonard Frey-Maibach

Premieres

Claudius Böhm Claudius Böhm (born in 1960) is a German librarian and author. Life Born in Leipzig, from 1970 to 1978 Böhm was a member of the Thomanerchor and attended the Thomasschule zu Leipzig. He studied philosophy and theology from 1980 to 1983 in E ...

, who has researched the history of the quartet, argues that the Gewandhaus Quartet most likely played the world premiere of Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 74, also Mendelssohn's string quartets, in D major, Op. 32, and in E flat major, Op. 44/3. They probably performed Schumann's String Quartet in A minor Op. 41/1 as well as his

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

in E flat major, Op. 44, and his

Piano Quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

in E flat major, Op. 47. Further premiered compositions were by

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day. Biography Gade was bor ...

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, t ...

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard ...

, Salomon Jadassohn,

Ethel Smyth Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (; 22 April 18588 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas. Smyth tended t ...

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. ...

, Hermann Ambrosius, Antonín Dvořák,

Siegfried Thiele Siegfried Thiele (born 28 March 1934) is a German composer. From 1990 to 1997 he was rector of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. Life Born in Chemnitz Thiele was born the son of a craftsman. Already at the age of twelve he created h ...

Günter Kochan Günter Kochan (2 October 1930 – 22 February 2009) was a German composer. He studied with Boris Blacher and was a master student for composition with Hanns Eisler. From 1967 until his retirement in 1991, he worked as professor for musical com ...

, and others.

Awards

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

* 2014

Sources

* Claudius Böhm: ''Das Gewandhaus-Quartett.'' Kamprad, Altenburg 2008.''Das Gewandhaus-Quartett und die Kammermusik am Leipziger Gewandhaus seit 1808''
on WorldCat

References

External links

*
Homepage Gewandhaus Quartet
{{String quartets, state=collapsed German string quartets 1808 establishments Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany