The Rosé Quartet was 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 ...

formed by

Arnold Rosé Arnold Josef Rosé (born ''Rosenblum''; 24 October 1863 – 25 August 1946) was a Romanian-born Austrian Jewish violinist. He was leader of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for over half a century. He worked closely with Brahms. Gustav Mahler was ...

in 1882. It was active for 55 years, until 1938.

Members

Its members changed over time. Rosé was first

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 ...

throughout. Julius Egghard Jr. played the second violin at first; then it was Albert Bachrich, until 1905 when Paul Fischer joined.

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 ...

was initially Anton Loh, then Hugo von Steiner until 1901 when Anton Ruzitska came on; after 1920, Max Handl played the viola. Eduard Rosé, Arnold’s brother, had been a founding member of the ensemble playing the

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 ...

, but left after one season to get married and was replaced by Reinhold Hummer, who was in turn replaced by

Friedrich Buxbaum Friedrich Siegfried Buxbaum (23 September 1869, Vienna 2 October 1948, London) was an Austrian cellist and long-serving member (and principal cello) of the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera, and member of the Rosé Quartet. His Jewish fa ...

; cellist

Anton Walter Gabriel Anton Walter (5 February 1752 – 11 April 1826) was a builder of pianos. The '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most famous Viennese piano maker of his time".Latcham (2009) Life Walter was born in Neuha ...

joined in 1921, but later on Buxbaum rejoined. The group's peak period was between 1905 and 1920, with Rosé, Fischer, Ruzitska, and Buxbaum.

Repertoire

The quartet's repertoire was based around the works of

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 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 ...

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 classical ...

, but many contemporary composers also benefited from the quartet's support, including

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

Associations

The group participated in the Vienna premieres of works by

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, including his

Clarinet Quintet Traditionally a clarinet quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. Now the term clarinet quintet can refer to five B clarinets; four B clarinets and a ...

and his Quintet in G major Opus 111. It also premiered Schoenberg's first and second

string quartets 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 ...

and participated in the premiere of

Verklärte Nacht ''Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's p ...

along with two members of the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its ...

: Franz Jelinek, viola, and Franz Schmidt, violoncello. Among the quartet's performing collaborators were

Julius Röntgen Julius Engelbert Röntgen (9 May 1855 – 13 September 1932) was a German-Dutch composer of classical music. He was a friend of Liszt, Brahms and Grieg. Life Julius Röntgen was born in Leipzig, Germany, to a family of musicians. His father, ...

, Johannes Brahms, Franz Steiner,

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...

, and Richard Mühlfeld. The quartet also made recordings.

References in popular culture

* Baroness Lemburg in

The White Liars ''The White Liars'' is a one-act play by Peter Shaffer, first performed in 1967 originally titled ''White Lies''. It is often performed with another of Shaffer's one-act plays, ''Black Comedy'', to form the double-bill of ''The White Liars and Bl ...

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...

claims that her father played with "The Rosé String Quartet" and knew them intimately.

References

*
String Quartets
*

External links

First Chapter of Alma Rose book
containing information about the quartet {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose Quartet Establishments in the Empire of Austria (1867–1918) Musical groups established in 1882 Musical groups disestablished in 1938 Musical groups from Vienna Austrian string quartets 1882 establishments