The NYC-based Emerson String Quartet celebrates its 30th year of artistry with the first of a two-part concert featuring Beethoven's complete quartets Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.
All Beethoven Part I features Opp. 127, 135 and 131. Part II brings the Quartet back to Union in May for its 23rd Chamber Concert Series appearance.
Formed in 1976, the group chose its name in honor of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the spirit of the Bicentennial. The Emersons include violinists and co-founding members Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer. Lawrence Dutton, viola, joined the group in 1977, and cellist David Finckel joined in 1979.
This year, the world-renowned quartet also will perform an exclusive eight-concert Perspectives Series titled “Beethoven In Context” in Carnegie Hall's historic main venue, Isaac Stern Auditorium. The series juxtaposes Beethoven's quartet repertoire with notable compositions spanning three centuries. For this series, Carnegie Hall has commissioned composer Kaija Saariaho to write a quartet for the group in honor of the project and the group's 30th anniversary.
The Emerson String Quartet has amassed an impressive list of achievements, including seven Grammy Awards – two for Best Classical Album, an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group – as well as three Gramophone Awards and frequent performances in major concert halls throughout the world.
The ensemble is lauded globally as a string quartet that approaches both classical and contemporary repertoire with equal mastery and enthusiasm and, in 2004, was the first chamber ensemble to win the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize from Lincoln Center.
The group is also celebrating 20 years of exclusivity with Deutsche Grammophon with the release of an all-Brahms disc containing the three Brahms Quartets and the Piano Quintet with Leon Fleischer.
The quartet continues its residency at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., now in its 27th sold-out season. Its extensive European tour includes concerts in London, Vienna, Berlin, Prague and Paris.
Concert tickets are free for the Union community, $25 for the general public and $10 for area students. For information, call 388-6080 or 372-3651; or online.