Editing Emerson String Quartet

{{Short description|American string quartet}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Emerson String Quartet
| image               = The Emerson String Quartet 2014.jpg
| caption             = The Emerson String Quartet in 2014
| image_size          = 250px
| background          = classical_ensemble
| alias               = The Emerson Quartet
| origin              = [[New York City]], United States
| instrument          = 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello
| genre               = [[Classical music|Classical]]
| occupation          = [[String quartet]]
| years_active        = 1976–2023
| label               = [[Deutsche Grammophon]], [[New World Records|New World]], [[Sony Classical]]
| website             = {{URL|http://www.emersonquartet.com}}
| current_members     = Eugene Drucker<br>Philip Setzer<br>Lawrence Dutton<br>Paul Watkins
| past_members        = Guillermo Figueroa, Jr.<br>Eric Wilson<br>David Finckel
}}

The '''Emerson String Quartet''', also known as the '''Emerson Quartet''',<ref>Church, Michael.  [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/emerson-string-quartet-a8040936.html "Emerson String Quartet, St John’s, Smith Square, London, review: Thrilling performance of ineffable Beethoven fugue"], ''[[The Independent]]'' (November 6, 2017).</ref> was an American [[string quartet]] initially formed as a student group at the [[Juilliard School]] in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and began touring professionally in 1976.<ref name="HOPE (2013)">{{cite web|title=Emerson String Quartet|url=http://hope.edu/arts/gps/1213/emerson_string.html|publisher=hope.edu|access-date=27 May 2014}}</ref> The ensemble taught in residence at [[The Hartt School]] in the 1980s and is currently the quartet in residence at [[Stony Brook University]].<ref name=HARTT>{{cite web|title=History of The Hartt School|url=http://harttweb.hartford.edu/about/history/default.aspx|publisher=hartford.edu|access-date=27 May 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Switching Violinists">{{cite web|title=Emerson String Quartet|url=http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2014/10/14/0800/PM/Emerson-String-Quartet-Yefim-Bronfman/|publisher=Carnegie Hall|access-date=January 16, 2014}}</ref>

The Emerson Quartet was inducted into the [[American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum|Classical Music Hall of Fame]] in 2010.<ref name=CHOF>{{cite web|title=View Inductees: Emerson String Quartet|url=http://classicalwalkoffame.org/view-inductees/?id=38|publisher=classicalwalkoffame.org|access-date=27 May 2014}}</ref> {{As of|2014|5}}, they had released more than thirty albums and won nine [[Grammy Award]]s, as well as the prestigious [[Avery Fisher Prize]] in 2004.<ref name="SA (2014)">{{cite web|title=Emerson String Quartet|url=http://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/landing/emerson-string-quartet.aspx|publisher=smithsonianassociates.org|access-date=24 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="NPR (2010)">{{cite web|last=Huizenga|first=Tom|title=The Emerson Quartet At (Le) Poisson Rouge|website=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/event/music/126163957/the-emerson-quartet-at-le-poisson-rouge|access-date=24 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="BOOK (2000)">{{cite book |last=Dischel |first=Robert S. |year=2000 |title=Converging Lines: The Extraordinary Story of the Emerson String Quartet's First 25 Years |location=London |publisher=Risk Waters Group |isbn=1-899332-68-5}}
</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Emerson String Quartet Institute | website=Stony Brook University, New York | url=https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/music/academics/_graduate/esqi.php | ref={{sfnref | Stony Brook University, New York}} | access-date=2023-07-08}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hernández |first1=Javier C. |title=Celebrated String Quartet Will Disband, Ending 47-Year Run |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/26/arts/music/emerson-string-quartet.html |access-date=4 September 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=26 August 2021}}</ref> 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 (Schubert)|String Quintet]] D. 956. The performance was filmed by Tristan Cook for a planned documentary.<ref>{{cite web | title=Announcing the Final Farewell concerts: October 21-22, 2023 | website=The Emerson Quartet | date=2023-07-05 | url=https://www.emersonquartet.com/news/announcing-the-final-farewell | ref={{sfnref | The Emerson Quartet | 2023}} | access-date=2023-07-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Emerson String Quartet: Farewell Performance | website=The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | url=https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/nyc/events/upcoming/emerson-string-quartet-farewell-performance-sat/ | ref={{sfnref | The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center}} | access-date=2023-07-08}}</ref>

==Members==
The members of the group at the time of its retirement were: Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, [[violin]]; [[Lawrence Dutton]], [[viola]] (since 1977); and [[Paul Watkins (musician)|Paul Watkins]], [[cello]] (since 2013).<ref name="EQ (2012)">{{cite web|url=http://www.emersonquartet.com/artist.php?view=news&nid=2747 |title=Emerson String Quartet Announces Departure Of Cellist David Finckel &#124; Emerson String Quartet |publisher=Emersonquartet.com |date=February 14, 2012|access-date=March 10, 2012}}</ref>

Previous members were: Guillermo Figueroa, Jr., viola (1976–1977); Eric Wilson, cello (1976–1979); and [[David Finckel]], cello (1979–2013).<ref>{{cite web |title=Emerson Quartet to retire in 2023 |url=https://www.thestrad.com/news/emerson-quartet-to-retire-in-2023/13511.article |website=The Strad |access-date=9 December 2022}}</ref>

==History==
In the early 1980s, [[Deutsche Grammophon]] 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.<ref name="strings">{{cite web |last1=May |first1=Thomas |title=The Emerson String Quartet Celebrates 40 Years |date=28 September 2016 |url=https://stringsmagazine.com/the-emerson-string-quartet-celebrates-40-years/ |access-date=27 April 2020 |ref=September 28, 2016}}</ref>

== 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."<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 World Class Soloists Actively Promoting Violin Making {{!}} MyLuthier Blog |url=https://www.myluthier.co/post/5-soloists-playing-on-contemporary-instruments |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=www.myluthier.co |language=en}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2022}}

==Awards and recognition==
'''[[Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance]]''':

*[[Grammy Awards of 1989|1989]] ''[[Béla Bartók|Bartók]]: 6 String Quartets''
*[[Grammy Awards of 1993|1993]] ''[[Charles Ives|Ives]]: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2; [[Samuel Barber|Barber]]: [[String Quartet (Barber)|String Quartet Op.11]] (American Originals)''
*[[Grammy Awards of 1997|1997]] ''[[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]: The String Quartets''
*[[Grammy Awards of 2000|2000]] ''[[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]]: The String Quartets''
*[[Grammy Awards of 2005|2005]] ''[[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]]: The Complete String Quartets''
*[[Grammy Awards of 2006|2006]] ''Intimate Voices ''
*[[Grammy Awards of 2009|2009]] ''Intimate Letters ''

'''[[Grammy Award for Best Classical Album]]''':
*[[Grammy Awards of 1989|1989]] ''Bartók: 6 String Quartets''
*[[Grammy Awards of 2001|2001]] ''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]]. They also played for the Oscar nominated short film, ''[[The Little Matchgirl (2006 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.<ref name="SA (2014)" /> In January 2015, the Quartet received the Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, the highest award in the classical [[Chamber Music|chamber music]] world.<ref name=Award>{{cite web|title=Emerson String Quartet Set to Receive Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award|url=http://www.emersonquartet.com/artist.php?view=news&nid=5682|publisher=Emerson String Quartet|access-date=January 16, 2015}}</ref>

==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 Records|New World]]
*''Imbrie: Quartet No. 4; Schuller: Quartet No. 2'' (1990) New World
*''Beethoven: Quartet in F, Op. 135; Schubert: Quartet in G, D. 887'' (1990) [[Deutsche Grammophon]]
*''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]] (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]] (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]]
*''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]]
*''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]]
*Journeys: Tchaikovsky, Schönberg (2013) Sony Classical
*Berg: Lyric Suite; Wellesz: Sonnets By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (2015) [[Decca Records|Decca]]
*''Emerson String Quartet: The Complete DG Recordings'' (2016) [[Deutsche Grammophon]] (52 CDs)
*Chaconnes And Fantasias - Music Of Britten And Purcell (2017) Decca
*Schumann - String Quartets (2020) [[Pentatone (record label)|PENTATONE]]

==See also==
*[[List of string quartet ensembles]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*Emerson String Quartet [http://www.emersonquartet.com/ official website]
*[http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=1&c=2 Artists' page on IMGArtists] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017115606/http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=1&c=2 |date=2006-10-17 }}
*[http://www.mlfilms.com/productions/bach_project/emerson_string_quartet BACH & friends Documentary]

{{String quartets|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

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