The Brodsky Quartet is a British

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 violinist ...

, formed in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet". Only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas remain as original members. In addition to performing

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

, and in particular the string quartet repertoire 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 ...

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 ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, Bartók and Shostakovich, they have collaborated with such rock and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

figures as

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. They perform the "Strings" on Björk's ''Family Tree'' box set. This material mostly comes from concerts Björk and the Brodsky gave at London's Union Chapel in December 1999. The quartet used to perform standing up. Jacqueline Thomas had her cello fitted with an extra-long spike and used a small stool under her left foot, so that the instrument could rest against her bent knee. In May 1998 the Brodsky Quartet was presented with a

Royal Philharmonic The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

Society Award for an outstanding contribution to the world of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

. As well as their performance and recording work, the Brodsky Quartet is currently the visiting quartet at the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

, where they regularly tutor young chamber music ensembles who attend the academy. For fourteen years they taught and performed at the

Dartington International Summer School Dartington International Summer School is a summer school and festival of music held on the medieval estate of Dartington Hall and is a department of the Dartington Trust. Operation First established at Bryanston School in 1948 (largely throu ...

. The Brodsky Quartet is not the first quartet of that name. They are named for Russian violinist

Adolph Brodsky Adolph Davidovich Brodsky (russian: Адольф Давидович Бродский, ''Adolf Davidovič Brodskij''; – 22 January 1929) was a Russian violinist. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a performer and teacher, starting ear ...

(1851–1929), who himself had led two quartets himself under that name. In 1918

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

dedicated his String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83 to the 2nd Adolph Brodsky quartet. In 2016, the Quartet recorded an album with Australian

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

called ''

With Love and Fury ''With Love and Fury'' is a collaborative studio album by British string quartet the Brodsky Quartet and Australian singer songwriter Katie Noonan. The album has been described as a fusion of their styles into an incredibly composed and creativ ...

'', which re-imagines the poetry of

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New So ...

. In 2019 it was announced that Daniel Rowland was leaving the post of leader and that Gina McCormack would replace him from May 2019. In May 2021 it was announced that Gina McCormack was stepping down as leader and that

Krysia Osostowicz Krysia Osostowicz FGS (born 1960) is a violin player who teaches at the Guildhall School of Music. She is the leader of the Dante String Quartet and principal violinist with the Endymion Ensemble. She previously played for 15 years with the Domus ...

would replace her.

Members

1972–1982 * Michael Thomas * Ian Belton * Alexander Robertson * Jacqueline Thomas 1982–1999 * Michael Thomas * Ian Belton * Paul Cassidy * Jacqueline Thomas 1999–2007 * Andrew Haveron * Ian Belton * Paul Cassidy * Jacqueline Thomas 2007–2019 * Daniel Rowland, * Ian Belton * Paul Cassidy * Jacqueline Thomas 2019–2021 * Gina McCormack,

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 regu ...

* Ian Belton, violin * Paul Cassidy,

viola ; 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 ...

* Jacqueline Thomas,

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

2021- *

* Ian Belton, violin * Paul Cassidy,

* Jacqueline Thomas,

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, ''

'' (with

) ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

, , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brodsky Quartet English string quartets Musical groups established in 1972