The Stanford String Quartet was formed in 1984 as a special project of the Stanford Universitybr>Department of Music.

Personnel

Faculty member and violinist

Andor Toth Andor John Toth (June 16, 1925 – November 28, 2006) was an American classical violinist, conductor and educator with a musical career spanning over six decades. Toth played his violin on the World War II battlefields of Aachen, Germany; performe ...

became the first violinist. He was joined by Stanford faculty member
Bernard Zaslov
viola an

Alternating as second violinists wer
Zoya Lebin
and Susan Frier.

1987–1989 season

The Quartet's 1987–88 season included the world premiere of Bathsheba and Her Suitors, a composition by Jose Bowen commissioned by jazz flutis

and the Stanford String Quartet.

1989–90 season

The 1989–90 season was built around two compositions commissioned by the Quartet, String Quartet no. 9 by Ben Johnston, and the Tenth String Quartet by Stanford alumni William Bolcom, a faculty member at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. The Quartet also programmed these works on a national tour commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Stanford University. The tour included performances at the John F. Kennedy Center in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

, New York City. The Quartet's New York City concert at

was reviewed on February 4, 1989 by

John Rockwell John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to '' Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all ...

, music critic for the

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 ...

. Rockwell said this of the Quartet: ". . . their playing epitomizes central European musicianship at its best: sensible, comfortable, unassuming . .

Signature recording

The Johnston and Bolcom quartets were recorded in 1991 b
Laurel Records
in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, at Paramount Hall and Skywalker Hall. Also on this initial signature CD is the String Quartet b
Marc Neikrug
''Stars the Mirror.'' This CD gave all three compositions their world premiere recording.

New personnel

After the retirement of

in 1989, the members of the Quartet wer
Phillip Levy
and Susan Freier, violins

viola; an

This quartet recorded

in 1993 that was released in 1994 on the Music & Arts label. The CD included compositions by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845-1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a m ...

, and Gabriel Fauré.

References

Stanford String Quartet Plays Bolcom, Johnston, Neikrug Bolcom Tenth String Quartet CD in Library of Congress catalog
* ttp://www.laurelrecord.com/ Laurel Records {{authority control American string quartets Musical groups established in 1984 Stanford University musical groups 1984 establishments in California