Curtis String Quartet
| Curtis String Quartet | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Classical |
| Years active | 1927[citation needed]-1981[citation needed] |
| Past members |
Jascha Brodsky Charles Jaffe Max Aronoff Orlando Cole Mehli Mehta |
The Curtis String Quartet was an American string quartet based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The quartet was formed in 1932[1] (some sources say 1927[2] or 1930[3]), with initial members Jascha Brodsky, Charles Jaffe (violins), Max Aronoff (viola), and Orlando Cole (cello). In 1942 or 1943 they founded the New School of Music, Philadelphia, and became the resident string quartet there.[2][3] The quartet took its name from the fact that its members were all graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music, and became the first American-trained quartet to visit Europe, when the British Broadcasting Corporation invited them to London in 1935.[1][4] This visit, made in June 1935 and sponsored by the Philadelphia branch of the English-Speaking Union, was in connection with the celebration of the Jubilee of George V and was in the company of several other young Philadelphia musicians: Rose Bampton, pianists Elizabeth Westmoreland and Martha Halbwachs Masséna, singers Agnes Davis and Benjamin de Loache, and violinist Philip Frank. Two concerts and a BBC broadcast presented music by American composers. The Curtis Quartet's contributions included Gian Carlo Menotti's Italian Dance and two works by Samuel Barber: the Serenade for String Quartet, Op. 1 (1928), and Dover Beach, Op. 3 (1931).[5] Shortly before this tour, on 13 May 1935, the Curtis Quartet had made a recording at the RCA studios in Camden, New Jersey, of Barber's Dover Beach, with the composer singing. Although Rose Bampton had made an earlier recording in 1933, it was never released, so the Curtis Quartet's recording became the first commercial release in June 1936.[6]
Conductor Zubin Mehta's family moved to the United States when his father Mehli Mehta joined the quartet in 1959.[7]
After about 3 000 performances, the quartet disbanded in 1980,[8] or else in 1981, when violist Max Aronoff died.[1][9]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Daniel John Carroll, "Brodsky, Jascha", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Curtis Quartet In Recital Thursday". Montreal Gazette. February 12, 1944. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Allan Kozinn, "Jascha Brodsky, 90, Violinist at Curtis Institute" (obituary), New York Times (March 6, 1997): D22.
- ↑ Otto E. Albrecht, Tom Di Nardo, Eve R. Meyer, and Nina Davis-Millis, "Philadelphia", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).
- ↑ Barbara B. Heyman, Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992): 123. ISBN 978-0-19-509058-1.
- ↑ Barbara B. Heyman, Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992): 107. ISBN 978-0-19-509058-1.
- ↑ Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 456. ISBN 9780826418159.
- ↑ Campbell, Margaret (2004). "21". The Great Cellists. Robson Books. p. 227. ISBN 9781861056542. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ↑ Anon., "Curtis String Quartet", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).