The Emerson String Quartet

Recorded January 9, 2010 at Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History.

April 26, 2010, 9:00 pm

The Emerson String Quartet, formed in 1976, performs with the same benchmark intensity, energy, and commitment as ever.  Their list of achievements is unparalleled in the history of string quartets:  30 acclaimed recordings for Deutsche Grammophon since 1987; eight Grammy Awards, including two for Best Classical Album--an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group; three Gramophone Awards; and the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.  They have performed complete cycles of the Beethoven, Bartok and Shostakovich string quartets in musical capitals from New York to London to Vienna, and have collaborated in concerts and on recordings with some of the greatest artists of our time.

The Emersons derived their name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.  The Quartet is composed of violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel.  Now in its 28th sold-out season, the Emerson continues its residency with the Smithsonian Associates.

Featured performances:

Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violins
Lawrence Dutton, viola
David Finckel, cello

Antonin Dvorak: String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, B. 193, Op. 105
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 117