 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) |
The Arditti Quartet is an internationally acclaimed string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.
The Arditti Quartet enjoys a worldwide reputation for their spirited and technically refined interpretations of contemporary and earlier 20th century music. Several hundred string quartets and other chamber works have been written for the ensemble since its foundation by first violinist Irvine Arditti (b. London, 1953) in 1974. These works have left a permanent mark on 20th century repertoire and have given the Arditti Quartet a firm place in music history. World premieres of works by composers such as Thomas Adès, Louis Andriessen, Georges Aperghis, Christophe Bertrand, Harrison Birtwistle, Benjamin Britten, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Edison Denisov, James Dillon, Hugues Dufourt, Pascal Dusapin, Ivan Fedele, Morton Feldman, Brian Ferneyhough, Luca Francesconi, Francisco Guerrero, Sofia Gubaidulina, Jonathan Harvey, Toshio Hosokawa, Klaus Huber, Mauricio Kagel, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, Gyorgy Ligeti, Bruno Maderna, Conlon Nancarrow, Roger Reynolds, Wolfgang Rihm, Giacinto Scelsi, Salvatore Sciarrino, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis and hundreds more, show the wide range of music in the Arditti Quartet’s repertoire.
The ensemble believes that close collaboration with composers is vital to the process of interpreting modern music and therefore attempts to work with every composer it plays. The players' commitment to educational work is indicated by their masterclasses and workshops for young performers and composers all over the world. From 1982 to 1996 the quartet’s members were resident string tutors at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music.
The Arditti Quartet’s extensive discography now features over 160 CDs. Forty-two discs have been released as part of the ensemble’s continuing series on the French label Naïve Montaigne. The series presents numerous contemporary composer features as well as the first digital recordings of the complete Second Viennese School's string quartet music. Stockhausen’s infamous Helicopter Quartet is to be found here. As well as many composer portraits recorded in their presence, the complete quartets of Luciano Berio were recorded shortly before his death. The quartet have recorded for more than 20 other labels and some of the latest releases include music by Ades, Cage, Fedele, Finsterer, Frith, Ingolfsson, Neuwirth, Paredes, Moe and Lachenmann
Over the past 25 years, the ensemble has received many prizes for its work. They have won the Deutsche Schallplatten Preis several times and the Gramophone Award for the best recording of contemporary music in 1999 (Elliott Carter) and 2002 (Harrison Birtwistle). The prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize was awarded to them in 1999 for "lifetime achievement" in music.
Contents |
Members
- Irvine Arditti (violin) 1974-
- Ashot Sarkissjan (violin) 2005-
- Ralf Ehlers (viola) 2003-
- Lucas Fels (cello) 2006-
Previous members
Violin 2
- Lennox Mackenzie 1974-1983
- Alexander Balanescu 1983-85
- David Alberman 1985-1994
- Graeme Jennings 1994-2005
Viola
- Levine Andrade 1974-1990
- Garth Knox 1990-1997
- Dov Scheindlin 1997-2002
Cello
- John Senter 1974-1976
- Helen Liebmann 1976-77
- Rohan de Saram 1977-2005
External links
- Official Website
- Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
- Arditti Quartet interview by Bruce Duffie, March 1, 1992
 |
This article about a classical ensemble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
