The Hampton String Quartet or the Hampton Rock String Quartet is a

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 ...

specializing in

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

and other popular styles using two violins, a viola and a cello. In 1998 they were nominated for a Grammy Award, and as of 2012 they were the best selling string quartet. According to the liner notes of their 1986 debut album, ''What if

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

wrote "

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In ...

",'' the quartet was formed specifically for that album in response to

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

's desire to record chamber music arrangements of mostly-secular Christmas music. That album went on to sell close to a million copies and together with their following albums and CDs have made HSQ one of the largest selling string quartets in history. Their debut album was followed in 1988 by ''What if Mozart Wrote "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace clas ...

"'' and ''What if Mozart Wrote "

Born to Be Wild "Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 fi ...

"'' in 1989 and then ''What if Mozart Wrote "

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by American singer Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with the Ronettes's 1963 ...

".'' Following the ''What if Mozart...'' series, little was heard from the quartet until 1993, when they released an album featuring the Rolling Stones' "

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones and the opening track from the band's 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. The song is a product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership. It is consid ...

" as its title track, which subsequently was part of the debut album on the label of the cellist's music publishing company,

Mona Lisa Sound Mona may refer to: People *Mona (name), a female given name, nickname and surname *Mona (Angolan footballer) (born 1997) *Mona, ring name of American wrestler Nora Greenwald Museums *Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, Nebraska, US *Museum of Neon ...

. Since then, the quartet has released three additional albums through Mona Lisa Sound, ''HSQ Rides Again'' (2004), ''HSQ Does Christmas (Again)'' (2004) and ''Take No Prisoners'' (2005). Their most recent releases include an all-Beatles CD, ''The Off-White Album'', as well as ''All Zeppelin''. Their current roster consists of Regis Iandiorio, first violin, Abe Appleman, second violin, Richard Maximoff, viola and John Reed, cello, all of whom except Appleman are original members.

References

External links

Webpage
{{authority control American string quartets Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in the United States