Acclaimed for its insightful performances, brilliant artistry and technical mastery, the Emerson String Quartet is one of the world's foremost chamber ensembles, and has amassed an impressive list of achievements: a brilliant series of recordings exclusively documented by Deutsche Grammophon since 1987, six Grammy Awards including two unprecedented honors for “Best Classical Album,” three Gramophone Magazine Awards and performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven, Bartók and Shostakovich quartets in major concert halls throughout the world. The ensemble is lauded globally as a string quartet that approaches both classical and contemporary repertoire with equal mastery and enthusiasm.
In the summer of 2005, the Quartet continued its exploration of Dmitri Shostakovich, with multiple performances of “The Noise of Time” in both Paris and Moscow with Simon McBurney’s theatre ensemble Complicité. In April and May, 2006 the Emerson performs the complete Shostakovich string quartet cycle for Great Performers at Lincoln Center as part of A Creative Path, the Music of Dmitri Shostakovich, which also includes Valery Gergiev conducting the complete symphonies. The string quartet cycle will also be performed in five concerts at London’s South Bank Centre in March of 2006. In January 2006, Deutsche Grammophon releases a disc of Nielsen, Sibelius and Grieg.
In addition to its active performance schedule in the major concert halls of North America, the Quartet tours Europe extensively, with stops in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Austria. In 2005-2006, the Quartet continues its relationship with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. as part of the group’s 26th sold-out season. Programs this season include the world premiere of a Nicholas Maw quartet, commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. In the fall of 2002, the Emerson joined Stony Brook University as Quartet-in-Residence, coaching chamber music, giving master classes and providing instrumental instruction. The ensemble conducted its first International Chamber Music Festival at Stony Brook in June 2004 and is planning its second Festival for May 2006. In addition to these duties the group performs several concerts during the year at Stony Brook’s Staller Center for the Arts and continues its educational affiliation with Carnegie Hall. In March 2004, the Quartet was named the 18th recipient of the 2004 Avery Fisher Prize – another first for a chamber ensemble.
The Emerson has received six Grammy Awards: two for its Shostakovich cycle, two for its Bartók cycle, one for American Originals (works by Ives and Barber) and one for the complete quartets of Beethoven.
Formed in 1976, the Emerson String Quartet took its name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Violinist Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer alternate in the first chair position and are joined by violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel. Since January 2002, the Emerson has performed while standing – the cellist plays on a podium – and incorporates this practice in all appearances. The Quartet is based in New York City.
