The Hawthorne String Quartet is an American

string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 ...

, all four of whose members are players from the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

. Although its repertoire ranges from the 18th century to contemporary works, the ensemble specializes in works by composers who were interned at the Terezín concentration camp during World War II and other "

Entartete Musik Degenerate music (german: Entartete Musik, link=no, ) was a label applied in the 1930s by the government of Nazi Germany to certain forms of music that it considered harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concerns about degenerate music were a ...

" composers.Kozinn, Allan
"Soul-Searching and Beauty From Holocaust"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. (May 12, 2001). Retrieved 7 December 2010. Their recordings of music by three of these composers, Pavel Haas, Erwin Schulhoff and

Hans Krása Hans Krása (30 November 1899 – 17 October 1944) was a Czech composer, murdered during the Holocaust at Auschwitz. He helped to organize cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp. Life Hans Krása was born in Prague, the son of Anna ...

, were released on the

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

''Entartete Musik'' series.

History

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based ensemble, the Hawthorne String Quartet takes its name from the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

novelist

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

and was founded in 1986. Its

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, Mark Ludwig, is also the Founder and Director of the Terezin Music Foundation.Kozinn, Allan
"Restored Works From a 'Paradise Ghetto'"
''New York Times'' (April 17, 1993). Retrieved 7 December 2010. Since its founding, the Quartet have toured both in the United States and internationally, and performed in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1991 at the commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of the first transportations of Jews from that city to the Terezin concentration camp. They have since returned several times to Prague, most notably for the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Prague Spring International Music Festival. At the 2009 Festival, they gave a concert to mark the inauguration of the Terezín Living Legacy Commission, playing works by

Josef Suk Josef Suk may refer to: * Josef Suk (composer) (1874–1935), Czech composer and violinist * Josef Suk (violinist) (1929–2011), his grandson, Czech violinist and conductor {{Hndis, Suk, Josef ...

Gideon Klein Gideon Klein (6 December 1919 – c. January 1945) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovakian pianist, european classical music, classical music composer, educator and organizer of cultural life at Theresienstadt concentration camp. Life Klein was bor ...

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

, Elliott Carter and the world premiere of Pavel Zemek's ''Zvony světla'' (Bells of Light). At the 2010 Festival, they played in the world premiere of

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

's ''Clarinet Sonata'' with Thomas Martin on clarinet and the composer on piano. One of the ensemble's more unusual collaborations, was their 2009 performance at the Tanglewood Music Festival where they played

's ''String Quartet'' while artist Jim Schantz simultaneously created a landscape painting in response to the music. The Quartet also perform for the community outreach programs of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Terezín Chamber Music Foundation, and since 1998 have been artists-in-residence at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, where Mark Ludwig also teaches music in the Faculty of Jewish Studies.

Members

*Mark Ludwig,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

*Ronan Lefkowitz,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

*Si-Jing Huang, violin *Sato Knudsen,

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Discography

*''Chamber Music from Theresienstadt'' –

Channel Classics Records Channel Classics Records is a record label from the Netherlands, specializing in classical music. The managing director and producer is C. Jared Sacks, who grew up in Boston. Sacks was schooled as a professional horn player at the Oberlin Conserv ...

CCS 1691 *''Silenced Voices'' – Northeastern Records NR 248 (also toured in concert) *'' Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Chamber Music'' –

Koch International Koch Entertainment was an American record label and a distributor of film, television, and music. It was purchased by Canadian entertainment company Entertainment One in 2005. History First years The company began in 1975 as part of Koch Intern ...

3-7056-2 *'' Pavel Haas and

: String Quartets'' –

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

440 853-2Davis, Peter G
"Hear No Evil"
''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'' (June 9, 1997) pp. 82-83. Retrieved 7 December 2010. *'' Schulhoff: Concertos Alla Jazz'' – Decca 444 819-2 *''Finding a Voice: Musicians in Terezin'' – Terezín Chamber Music Foundation Collection 34-001 *''Mistletoe Sax and Strings'' – North Star Music NS 164 *''Sax Across America'' – North Star Music NS 176 *''Virtuoso Trumpet'' – Kleos Classics KL 5114 *''Cradle Songs: A Collection of Lullabies from Around the World'' – IHJ Productions *''An Introduction to Entartete Musik'' – Decca 452-664-2 *''

Thomas Oboe Lee Thomas Oboe Lee (born September 5, 1945) is a Chinese American composer. Life Lee was born in Beijing, China. His family left Communist China in 1949 and lived in Hong Kong until 1959, when he moved to São Paulo, Brazil. He emigrated to the ...

String Quartets'' – Koch International 3-7452-2-III *''Concert for Terezin'' – Terezín Chamber Music Foundation, Turquoise Bee Records 34-002 *'' David L. Post String Quartets Nos. 2-4'' - Naxos 8.559661

Film scores

;Documentaries *''Dessa: A Legacy From Theresienstadt'' *''Entartete Musik: The Birth of a Project'' *''In the Shadow of the Reich: Nazi Medicine'' *''The Last Dance'' (

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...

and

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a ho ...

) *''Terezin: Life from death'' * '' Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.'' ;Feature films *'' Schindler's List'' *'' The Secret of Roan Inish'' ;Animated films *''Lost Momentum'' (by Scott Snibbe)

References

External links

Terezín Music Foundation
(official website) *Doran, Elizabeth

'' The Post-Standard'' (November 10, 2010) * Scott Snibbe's official website
complete video of ''Lost Momentum''
an animated short film with a score by August Watters played by the Hawthorne String Quartet * Prague Spring International Music Festival's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel
video excerpt of the Hawthorne String Quartet's 2009 concert
(excerpt is 3:44 minutes into the video) {{authority control Musical groups established in 1986 American string quartets Musical groups from Boston Culture of Boston 1986 establishments in Massachusetts