Juilliard String Quartet

Summary

The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. It has received numerous awards, including four Grammys and membership in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. In February 2011, the group received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award for its outstanding contributions to recorded classical music.

Juilliard String Quartet
The Juilliard String Quartet in 2018
The Juilliard String Quartet in 2018
Background information
Also known asThe Juilliard Quartet
OriginNew York City, United States
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)String quartet
Instrument(s)2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello
Years active1946–present
LabelsSony Classical (formerly Columbia Records and CBS Masterworks)
MembersAreta Zhulla
Ronald Copes
Molly Carr
Astrid Schween
Past memberssee below
Websitewww.juilliardstringquartet.org

As of 2022, the quartet's members are violinists Areta Zhulla and Ronald Copes, violist Molly Carr, and cellist Astrid Schween.

History edit

First era: 1946–1996 edit

The quartet was founded by Juilliard School president William Schuman and violin faculty member Robert Mann in 1946.[1] The original members were Mann and violinist Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer and cellist Arthur Winograd. It began recording with Columbia Records upon its founding.[2] Between March and August 1949, the quartet became the first group to record Béla Bartók's complete string quartets. Columbia released the recordings in 1950.[2] Around the time of its public and recording debuts, the Juilliard Quartet quickly established itself as a premier American ensemble on the international level.

In 1953, the group was the first to record Arnold Schoenberg's complete quartets.[2] In 1955, Claus Adam replaced Winograd as the group's cellist. In 1958, Isidore Cohen replaced Koff as second violinist.

In 1962, the Juilliard String Quartet replaced the Budapest String Quartet as the Library of Congress's quartet in residence.[1] That year, the quartet performed at the Library with a set of Stradivarius instruments Gertrude Clarke Whittall donated in the 1930s.[3] In 1966, Earl Carlyss replaced Cohen as second violinist and three years later, Samuel Rhodes replaced Hillyer as violist.

In 1974, Joel Krosnick replaced his teacher Adam as the cellist. By 1981, the Juilliard Quartet was said to have performed in over 3,000 concerts in 43 different countries.[4] In 1986, Joel Smirnoff replaced Carlyss as second violinist.[5]

In 1996, Mann announced his intention to retire.[6] He played his last concert as a member of the quartet at the Tanglewood Music Festival that year.[7] Smirnoff took over as first violinist and Ronald Copes joined the group as second violinist.[7]

21st century: 1997–present edit

In 2005, the quartet performed in Madrid for Queen Sofía of Spain on the set of Stradivarius Palatinos instruments owned by the Royal Palace of Madrid.[3] In 2009, Nick Eanet replaced Smirnoff as first violinist.[8] He left the group in 2010 for health reasons and was replaced by Joseph Lin of the Formosa Quartet.[9]

In 2013, Roger Tapping replaced Rhodes as violist. In 2015, the quartet released an app for Apple's iOS called "Juilliard String Quartet – An Exploration of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden". Ulysses Arts issued the recording separately. The London-based app developer Touchpress and the Juilliard School co-produced the app, which features the quartet in a performance of Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ("Death and the Maiden").[10] A year later, Astrid Schween replaced Krosnick as cellist, becoming the quartet's first female member.[11] Areta Zhulla then replaced Lin as first violinist.[12] After Tapping's death in 2022, Molly Carr became the quartet's new violist.[13]

Repertoire edit

The quartet plays a wide range of classical music, and has recorded works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bartók, Debussy and Shostakovich, among others, while also promoting more contemporary composers such as Elliott Carter, Ralph Shapey, Henri Dutilleux and Milton Babbitt.[14] It has performed with other noted musicians, such as Aaron Copland, Glenn Gould, Benita Valente and also (in its early days) the scientist Albert Einstein. It can be heard on the soundtrack of the movie Immortal Beloved.[15] By the early 1990s, the quartet was said to have produced more than 100 recordings and performed over 500 unique works.[16]

Members edit

First violin edit

Second violin edit

  • 1946 Robert Koff [ca]
  • 1958 Isidore Cohen
  • 1966 Earl Carlyss
  • 1986 Joel Smirnoff
  • 1997 Ronald Copes

Viola edit

  • 1946 Raphael Hillyer
  • 1969 Samuel Rhodes [de]
  • 2013 Roger Tapping
  • 2022 Molly Carr

Violoncello edit

Teaching edit

Members of the Juilliard Quartet are also private teachers and chamber coaches at the Juilliard School and at music festivals worldwide.[17][18] Musicians who have studied with the quartet have gone on to become members of the Tokyo, Emerson, Shanghai, LaSalle, Concord, Alexander, New World, Brentano, Lark, and the Ulysses string quartets among others.[3][5][19]

Awards edit

Grammy Awards edit

Year Recipient Award Result Ref
1961 Debussy and Ravel Quartets Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Vocal or Instrumental - Chamber Music Nominated [20]
1962 Berg: Lyric Suite; Webern: 5 Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 5; 6 Bagatelles, Op. 6 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [21]
1964 Beethoven: Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95; String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music Nominated [22]
1965 Beethoven: Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance - Instrumental Nominated [23]
1966 Bartók: The Six String Quartets Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance - Instrumental or Vocal Won [24]
1968 Ives: Quartets Nos. 1 and 3 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [25]
1972 Debussy: Quartet in G Minor/Ravel: Quartet in F Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Won [26]
1975 Beethoven: The Late Quartets Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated
1978 Schoenberg: Quartets for Strings (Complete) Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Won [27]
1980 Webern: The Complete Works of Anton Webern, Vol. 1 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album Nominated [28]
1981 Schubert: Quartet No. 15 in G Major, Op. 161 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [29]
1984 Bartók: The String Quartets (6) Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [30]
1985 Beethoven: The Late String Quartets Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Won [31]
1986 Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [32]
1991 Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music or Other Small Ensemble Performance Nominated [33]
1992 Carter: The Four String Quartets; Duo for Violin and Piano Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [34]
Carter: The Four String Quartets; Duo for Violin and Piano Grammy Award for Best Classical Album Nominated
1995 Debussy/Ravel/Dutilleux: Quartets Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance Nominated [35]
2011 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Won [36]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Oestreich, James R. (October 29, 1997). "Juilliard Quartet's Musical Chairs". New York Times. p. 7. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Mermelstein, David (September 13, 2021). "'Juilliard String Quartet: The Early Columbia Recordings, 1949-56' Review: A Long-Awaited Encore". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Stewart, Laura (January 28, 2007). "Juilliard Quartet: Breadth and depth: [Final Edition]". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. ProQuest 382952542. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Rothstein, Edward (October 9, 1981). "JUILLIARD QUARTET MARKS 35TH YEAR OF SHARING". New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Hoffman, Eva (October 5, 1986). "JUILLARD: A RENEWED QUARTET". New York Times. p. 29. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Kozinn, Allan (December 11, 1996). "Quartet Losing Its Leader of Five Decades: Juilliard Quartet Is Losing Robert Mann, Its Leader of Five Decades". New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Dyer, Richard (December 20, 1996). "Mann retires from Juilliard Quartet". Boston Globe. ProQuest 403794100. Retrieved August 25, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (October 18, 2008). "Juilliard Quartet Names New Violinist". New York Times. ProQuest 433948039. Retrieved August 25, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (June 30, 2010). "Juilliard Quartet Violinist Steps Down; Health Cited". New York Times. ProQuest 527778676. Retrieved August 26, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ "Areta Zhulla to Become First Violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet Beginning September 2018; Joseph Lin to Step Down at the End of the 2017-18 Season and Remain on the Juilliard Faculty". Juilliard School. February 22, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "After 42 Years, Juilliard String Quartet Cellist To Step Down". National Public Radio. May 18, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  12. ^ "Juilliard String Quartet gets new first violin". The Strad. February 22, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Laurie, Niles. "Juilliard String Quartet Names Violist Molly Carr to Succeed Roger Tapping". Violinist.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  14. ^ Rothstein, Edward (October 14, 1991). "Review/Music; Elliott Carter Quartets Celebrate Juilliard's 45th". New York Times. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. ^ Immortal Beloved at IMDb  
  16. ^ Scher, Valerie (November 30, 1995). "Juilliard quartet long an inspiration". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 20. ProQuest 271525122. Retrieved August 27, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  17. ^ Kozinn, Allan (January 9, 1983). "How the Juilliard Quartet Shares Its Artistry: The Juilliard". New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  18. ^ Hay, Bryan (February 20, 1998). "SURVIVAL CONCERNS PLUCK AT HEARTSTRINGS OF JUILLIARD QUARTET". The Morning Call. ProQuest 392798007. Retrieved August 27, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  19. ^ May, Thomas (2021). "Forever Young". Strings Magazine. pp. 34–38. ProQuest 2585494449. Retrieved August 26, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  20. ^ "Grammy Awards 1961". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  21. ^ "Grammy Awards 1962". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  22. ^ "Grammy Awards 1964". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  23. ^ "Grammy Awards 1965". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  24. ^ "Grammy Awards 1966". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  25. ^ "Grammy Awards 1968". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  26. ^ "Grammy Awards 1972". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  27. ^ "Grammy Awards 1978". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  28. ^ "Grammy Awards 1980". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  29. ^ "Grammy Awards 1981". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  30. ^ "Grammy Awards 1984". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  31. ^ "Grammy Awards 1985". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  32. ^ "Grammy Awards 1986". AwardsandShows. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  33. ^ "Annual Grammy Nominations". UPI. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  34. ^ "And the nominees are." United Press International. January 8, 1992. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  35. ^ "The 37th Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1995. p. 7. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  36. ^ "The Recording Academy Announces Special Merit Award Honorees". Grammy Awards. December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links edit

  • Juilliard String Quartet Juilliard String Quartet official site
  • Colbert Artists Management: Juilliard String Quartet