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Escher String Quartet

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The Escher String Quartet is an American string quartet based in New York City, where they serve as Artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.[1] Their name derives from the Dutch artist M. C. Escher.

Biography

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The Escher Quartet was founded in 2005 in New York City, where its original members were studying at the Manhattan School of Music.[2] The group tours the US as well as internationally and has performed in Europe, Australia, and China.[1][3] Among the venues where the ensemble has performed are the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Wigmore Hall in London.[1]

The quartet served on the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme from 2010 until 2012.[4] They were also invited by Pinchas Zukerman to serve as Quartet in Residence at the Young Artists Programme at Canada's National Arts Centre[1] and were invited by Itzhak Perlman to the Perlman Music Program on Shelter Island, New York. From 2007 until 2009, the quartet was in residence at Stony Brook University.[5] Escher has been mentored by the Emerson String Quartet and has collaborated with artists that include Leon Fleischer, David Finckel, Wu Han, Benjamin Grosvenor, jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, and jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman[1][6]

In 2013 the Escher Quartet was awarded the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Career Grant.[7] In 2015 the quartet was awarded the Martin. E. Segal Award by Lincoln Center.[8]

In 2023–2024 the Escher Quartet served as season artists for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.[9]

Members

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  • Adam Barnett-Hart, violin
  • Brendan Speltz, violin
  • Pierre Lapointe, viola
  • Brook Speltz, cello

Former Members

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  • Aaron Boyd, violin

Recordings

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The Escher String Quartet is best known for its recordings of Alexander von Zemlinsky's complete string quartets.[10][11] In 2015, the quartet began releasing recordings of Mendelssohn's complete string quartets on the BIS label.[12]

  • Music@Menlo: Bridging the Ages, Disc 5. 2008. Music@Menlo Live
  • Amy Cheney Beach Piano Quintet / Alan Louis Smith Vignettes: Covered Wagon Woman. 2011. Chamber Music Society Studio Recordings
  • Stony Brook Soundings, Vol. 1, 2011. Bridge Records[13]
  • Alexander Zemlinsky String Quartets, Vol. 1, 2013. Naxos
  • Alexander Zemlinsky String Quartets, Vol. 2, 2014. Naxos
  • Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 1 in E Flat Major and No. 4 in E Minor, 2015. BIS [12]
  • Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 2 in A Minor and No. 3 in D Major, 2015. BIS [12]
  • Mendelssohn: String Quartets No. 5 in E Flat Major and No. 6 in F Minor, 2016. BIS [14]
  • Dvořák: American Quartet; Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1; Borodin: Quartet No. 2, 2018.[15] BIS
  • Samuel Barber: String Quartet in B minor, Op.11; Charles Ives: String Quartet No. 1 (From the Salvation Army) and String Quartet No. 2, 2021.[16] BIS
  • Pierre Jalbert: String Quartet No. 4, Air in Motion, and String Quartet No. 6 (“Canticle”), 2023. Orchard Classics – with Carol Wincenc (flute)
  • Pierre Jalbert: String Quartet No. 5 Terra Incognita, 2023. Orchard Classics

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Escher String Quartet. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  2. ^ Woolfe, Zachary (10 November 2011). "Precision And Polish For Quartet On the Rise". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  3. ^ Evans, Rian (27 June 2013). "Escher String Quartet – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  4. ^ BBC Radio 3. BBC New Generation Artists. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  5. ^ Stony Brook University."New Southampton Sunday Music Series Kicks Off With Escher String Quartet" Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  6. ^ Stony Brook University. Emerson String Quartet Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  7. ^ Lincoln Center. Avery Fisher Career Grants 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  8. ^ "The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | Press & News » CMS Two Artists Dominate 2015 Martin e. Segal Awards". Archived from the original on 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2015-05-27.
  9. ^ "Artists". Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  10. ^ Clements, Andrew (22 August 2013), "Zemlinsky: String Quartets Nos 3 and 4; Two pieces – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  11. ^ Dubins, Jerry (January 2014). "Review: Zemlinsky: String Quartets: No. 3, Op. 19; No. 4, Op. 25, "Suite." Two Movements for String Quartet". Fanfare..
  12. ^ a b c BIS [1]. "BIS Artists: Escher String Quartet". Retrieved 12 October 2015
  13. ^ Cahill, Greg (October 2010). "An Impressive Collection of Modern Chamber Works from Stony Brook". Strings.
  14. ^ BIS: Mendelssohn - String Quartets Nos 5 & 6, http://bis.se/label/bis/mendelssohn-string-quartets-nos-5-6
  15. ^ BIS: Dvořák: American Quartet; Tchaikovsky: Quartet No. 1; Borodin: Quartet No. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  16. ^ BIS: Samuel Barber: String Quartet in B minor, Op.11; Charles Ives: String Quartet No. 1 (From the Salvation Army) and String Quartet No. 2. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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