Pro Arte Quartet

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The Pro Arte String Quartet is a world-renowned musical ensemble originally founded in Belgium in 1912,[1] which transferred permanently to Madison, Wisconsin (USA) in 1941. In 1947 the title became the name of the faculty string quartet of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It remains a flourishing ensemble today.

Contents

[edit] Personnel

The original personnel of the Pro Arte Quartet were:

1st violin: Alphonse Onnou
2nd violin: Laurent Halleux
viola: Germain Prévost
violoncello: Robert Maas

The current (2007) personnel are:

1st violin: David Perry
2nd violin: Suzanne Beia
viola: Sally Chisholm
violoncello: Parry Karp

Many famous instrumentalists have played and coached with the Pro Arte Quartet over the years.

[edit] Origins

The Quartet was founded by Alphonse Onnou, its leader, in Brussels in 1912. After the First World War it became famous for the performance of modern music, and also for its its extensive recordings of Haydn. The Quartet made its New York debut in 1926 and performed at the inauguration of the Hall of Music at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. In 1932 they were named the 'Quatuor de la Cour de Belgique'. They frequently toured in the United States, and first performed at Madison, Wisconsin in 1938. While touring in Wisconsin in 1941 they were offered a permanent residency, and they continued to perform there until 1947. Following the disbanding of the Kolisch Quartet in the USA, Rudolf Kolisch took on the lead of the Pro Arte in 1944, combined with a Wisconsin Professorship. After this the 'Pro Arte' became the title of the quartet of the music faculty at Wisconsin. [2]

[edit] Recordings

(78rpm recordings (Victor/HMV) of the original Pro Arte up to 1936:- )

  • Bartok: Quartet no 1 in A minor op 7 (V 8842-5/DB 2379-82).
  • Bloch: Piano Quintet, with Alfredo Casella (V 7874-7/DB 1882-5).
  • Borodin: Quartet no 2 in D major (V 8609-12/DB 2150-3).
  • Brahms: Quartet no 1 in G minor op 25 (V 8444-7/DB 1813-6).
  • Brahms: Sextet no 1 in B flat major op 18, with Alfred Hobday and Anthony Pini (DB 2566-9).
  • Debussy: Quartet in G minor op 10 (1893) (DB 1878-81).
  • Dvořák: Piano Quintet in A major op 81, with Artur Schnabel (V 8305-8/DB 2177-80).
  • Franck: Quartet in D major (V 8630-5/DB 2051-6).
  • Mozart: Piano quartet no 1 in G minor K 478 with Artur Schnabel (V8562-5/Db 2155-8).
  • Mozart: String Quintet in C major K 515 with Alfred Hobday (V 8712-5/DB 2383-6).
  • Mozart: String Quintet in G minor K 516 with Alfred Hobday (V 7865-8/DB 2173-6).
  • Ravel: Quartet in F major (DB 2135-8).
  • Schubert: String Quintet in C major op 163 with Anthony Pini (DB 2561-5).
  • Schumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major op 44 with Artur Schnabel (V 8685-8/DB 2387-90).
  • Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso no 5 in A major 'a quatre' (V 8827/DB 2148).

The Haydn Quartet Society was formed in 1932 by HMV and by 1936 the Pro Arte recorded five volumes of records available only as complete sets. The contents were:

  • Volume 1: Quartets in C major op 20 no 2; C major op 33 no 3 'Bird'; G major op 77 no 1.
  • Volume 2: Quartets in D major op 33 no 6; G major op 54 no 1; C major op 54 no 2; G minor op 74 no 3.
  • Volume 3: Quartets in F major op 3 no 5; E flat major op 33 no 2; E flat major op 64 no 6; B flat major op 71 no 1.
  • Volume 4: Quartets in E flat major op 50 no 3; C major 'Emperor' op 76 no 3; F minor op 20 no 5.
  • Volume 5: Quartets in D major op 20 no 4; F major op 74 no 2; F major op 77 no 2.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Thus the official website. According to (Eaglefield-Hull 1924), in 1922.
  2. ^ See the history of the quartet in the official website, [1]

[edit] Sources

  • R.D. Darrell, The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music (New York 1936).
  • A. Eaglefield-Hull, A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London 1924).

[edit] External links

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