The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet, was an American

string quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

initially formed as a student group at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

and began touring professionally in 1976. The ensemble taught in residence at The Hartt School in the 1980s and is currently the quartet in residence at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

. Both of the founding violinists studied with Oscar Shumsky at Juilliard, and the two alternated as first and second violinists for the group. The Emerson Quartet was one of the first such ensembles with the two violinists alternating chairs. The Emerson Quartet was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2010. , they had released more than thirty albums and won nine

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s, as well as the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize in 2004. In 2017, the Emerson String Quartet Institute became part of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University. The institute enables members of the current quartet and the quartet's former cellist David Finckel to mentor and coach student string quartets. In August 2021, the quartet announced its plan to disband at the end of the 2022–2023 season in order to focus on teaching and solo work. In the final season of concerts in 2022-23, the quartet gave farewell performances throughout North America and Europe. The final performance of the quartet took place on Sunday, October 22, 2023, in New York City, featuring a program of Beethoven's Op. 130 string quartet (with its original ending, the Grosse Fuge, Op. 133) and Schubert's String Quintet D. 956. The performance was filmed by Tristan Cook for a planned documentary.

Members

The members of the group at the time of its retirement were: Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer,

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

; Lawrence Dutton,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

(since 1977); and Paul Watkins,

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(since 2013). Previous members were: Guillermo Figueroa, Jr., viola (1976–1977); Eric Wilson, cello (1976–1979); and David Finckel, cello (1979–2013).

History

In the early 1980s,

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

chose the Emerson Quartet to begin a series of recordings of the string quartet literature to be released on the new CD digital format. Cellist David Finckel called this a "huge break" for the ensemble, allowing it to develop a worldwide audience for its performances.

Instruments

In addition to using their Stradivarius instruments, the Emerson quartet own instruments by Samuel Zygmuntowicz which they often favour in larger halls as they believe they have better projection. Violinist Eugene Drucker even says of his modern violin "In a large space like Carnegie Hall, the Zygmuntowicz is superior to my Strad. It has more power and punch."

Awards and recognition

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance: *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

'' Bartók: 6 String Quartets'' *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Ame ...

: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2;

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

: String Quartet Op.11 (American Originals)'' *

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

: The String Quartets'' *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

: The String Quartets'' *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

: The Complete String Quartets'' *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

''Intimate Voices '' *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

''Intimate Letters '' Grammy Award for Best Classical Album: *

''Bartók: 6 String Quartets'' *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

''Shostakovich: The String Quartets'' Gramophone Classical Music Awards: *Chamber (Record of the Year) 1989 - ''Bartók'': String Quartets Nos. 1–6 *Chamber 2000 – ''Shostakovich'', Complete String Quartets (Nos 1–15 In 2002 the Quartet were the Music Directors of the

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

. They also played for the Oscar nominated short film, '' The Little Matchgirl''. They have also won the Avery Fisher Prize, and in 2010, were inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame, with a ceremony held in 2011. In January 2015, the Quartet received the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, the highest award in the classical

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

world.

Recordings

*''Volume I - Dvorák: Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 "American;" Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E "From My Life."'' (1990) Book of the Month Records *''Volume II - Brahms: Quartet No. 1 in c, Op. 51; Schumann: Quartet in A, Op. 41, No. 3'' (1990) Book of the Month Records *''Volume III - Borodin: Quartet No. 2 in D; Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1 in D, Op.11'' (1990) Book of the Month Records *''Volume IV - Debussy: Quartet in g, Op. 10; Ravel: Quartet in F Major.'' (1990) Book of the Month Records *''Piston: Concerto for String Quartet, Winds and Percussion'' (1990) Composers Recording Inc *''Cowell: Quartet Euphometric; Harris: Three Variations on a Theme (Quartet No. 2)'' (1990)

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

*''Imbrie: Quartet No. 4; Schuller: Quartet No. 2'' (1990) New World *''Beethoven: Quartet in F, Op. 135; Schubert: Quartet in G, D. 887'' (1990)

*''Dvorák: Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 "American"; Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in E, "From My Life."'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Debussy: Quartet in g, Op. 10; Ravel: Quartet in F'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1 in D, Op. 11; Borodin: Quartet No. 2 in D'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mozart: Quartet in B-flat, K. 458 "Hunt"; Quartet in C, K. 465 "Dissonance"; Haydn: Quartet in C, Op. 76, No. 3 "Emperor'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Brahms: Quartet No. 1 in c, Op. 51; Schumann: Quartet in A, Op. 41, No. 3'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Beethoven: Quartet in f, Op. 95; Schubert: Quartet No. 14 in d, D. 810 "Death and the Maiden"'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Bartók: Complete String Quartets'' (1990) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mozart: The "Haydn" Quartets (complete)'' (1992) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mozart: The Flute Quartets'' with Carol Wincenc (1992) Deutsche Grammophon *''Prokofiev: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2/Sonata for 2 Violins'' (1992) Deutsche Grammophon *''Schubert: String Quintet in C, D. 956'' with

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

(1992) Deutsche Grammophon *''American Originals: String Quartets of Ives and Barber'' (1993) Deutsche Grammophon *''American Contemporaries: Harbison, Wernick, and Schuller'' (1994) Deutsche Grammophon *''Dvorák: Quartet in E-flat, Op. 87; Quintet in A, Op. 81'' with

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler (; 16 December 1923 – 6 May 2023) was a German-born Israeli-American pianist and academic teacher. He was known for his work with the Beaux Arts Trio that he co-founded in 1955, playing until its dissolution in 2008, in hund ...

(1994) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mozart: String Quartet in G, K. 387; String Quartet in d, K. 421'' (1995) Deutsche Grammophon *''Webern: Works for String Quartet/String Trio Op. 20'' (1995) Deutsche Grammophon *''Schumann Piano Quintet Op. 44/ Piano Quartet Op. 47'' with Menahem Pressler (1996) Deutsche Grammophon *''Beethoven: The String Quartets (Complete)'' (1997) Deutsche Grammophon *''Beethoven: Key to the Quartets'' (1997) Deutsche Grammophon *''Meyer: String Quintet/Rorem: String Quartet No. 4'' with Edgar Meyer (1998) Deutsche Grammophon *''Music of Curt Cacioppo: "Monsterslayer")'' (1998)

Capstone Records Capstone Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Richard Brooks in 1986 and was based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has hundreds of releases featuring a w ...

*''Schubert: String Quintet; Late Quartets'' (1999) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mozart/Brahms: Clarinet Quintets'' with David Shifrin (1999) Deutsche Grammophon *''Shostakovich: The String Quartets (complete)'' (2000) Deutsche Grammophon *''The Haydn Project'' (2001) Deutsche Grammophon *''The Emerson Encores'' (2002) Deutsche Grammophon *''Bach: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080'' (2003) Deutsche Grammophon *''Haydn: The Seven Last Words of our Savior on the Cross, Op. 51'' (2004) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mendelssohn: The Complete String Quartets'' (2005) Deutsche Grammophon *''Intimate Voices'' (2006) Deutsche Grammophon *''The Little Match Girl'' (2007)

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

*''Brahms: String Quartets'' (2007) Deutsche Grammophon *''Bach Fugues'' (2008) Deutsche Grammophon *''Intimate Letters'' (2009) Deutsche Grammophon *''Old World-New World'' (Dvorak) with Paul Neubauer (2010) Deutsche Grammophon *''Mozart: The Prussian Quartets'' (2011)

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

*Journeys: Tchaikovsky, Schönberg (2013) Sony Classical *Berg: Lyric Suite; Wellesz: Sonnets By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (2015)

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

*''Emerson String Quartet: The Complete DG Recordings'' (2016)

(52 CDs) *Chaconnes And Fantasias - Music Of Britten And Purcell (2017) Decca *Schumann - String Quartets (2020) PENTATONE

References

External links

*Emerson String Quarte
official websiteArtists' page on IMGArtists

BACH & friends Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson String Quartet Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 2023 American string quartets Grammy Award winners University of Hartford Hartt School 1976 establishments in New York City 2023 disestablishments in New York City Deutsche Grammophon artists