The Fine Arts Quartet
Ralph Evans, violin
Efim Boico, violin
Yuri Gandelsman, viola
Wolfgang Laufer, cello

"Gloriously rounded in tone...these interpretations come as a revelation...The performers catch the dark patina to perfection - the warmth behind the chill and the tears behind the laughter... When the music dances merrily in the major, the change of mood is like an electric shock, so uncontainable is this ensemble's infectiously communicated joy..." The Strad
 

"This ensemble exudes mature, seasoned musicianship. Together for many years, its members do not try to showboat or emote; they focus on the music.... And they have the sine qua non of every great string quartet, which is a strong second violinist. Efim Boico brings first-violin chops and presence, but willingly subsumes himself into the quartet fabric." Washington Post


"The ensemble swept the capacity audience off its feet with some of the finest chamber-music making in years." Arizona Republic


"[The Fine Arts Quartet's] blend, precision of ensemble, dynamic range, and sheer interpretative heft proclaim them among the finest of today's string quartets."
Classical Music Web


"Among today's excellent chamber music ensembles, the Fine Arts Quartet is in the first rank. The pleasure of listening is pure enchantment." La Suisse, Geneva

"Among the elite of today's chamber music ensembles" MusicWeb International


"It can hardly get better than this" Tidningen Kulturen, Sweden

"Genuine class and musical refinement" The Guardian, London

"Musical nobility that can't be surpassed" Aachener Zeitung


 

The Fine Arts Quartet is one of the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive recording legacy. Each season, the Fine Arts Quartet tours world-wide, with concerts in such musical centers as New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Mexico City, and Toronto. Initially founded in Chicago in 1946, the Quartet's current members (Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, Yuri Gandelsman, and Wolfgang Laufer) are artists-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This remarkable ensemble is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured internationally for over half a century. Three of the Quartet's current artists have now been performing together for 25 years.

View the quartet's 2008/2009 tour programs.

The Quartet also continues to record new works, adding to its collection of over 50 masterpieces released on CD during the past few years. The latest releases include the complete Schumann Quartets ("one of the very finest chamber-music recordings of the year" - American Record Guide, Sept/Oct 2007) and voted onto the prestigious Official 50th Grammy Entry List in two categories: "Best Classical Album" and "Best Chamber Music Performance"; chamber music of Glazunov on Naxos (nominated one of MusicWeb International's  Recordings of the Year 2007); and the complete Dohnányi Quartets and Quintets on Aulos. Releases planned for 2007-2008 include the complete Bruckner chamber music, the Mendelssohn Viola Quintets, quartets by American composers (Antheil, Herrmann, Evans), the complete early Beethoven Quartets, and quartets by Shostakovich.

The Quartet's recent recordings of the complete Mozart viola quintets, released by Lyrinx in Sony's brilliant Super Audio CD format, were voted onto the 2003 Grammy entry list and designated a "Critic's Choice 2003" by the American Record Guide. The Quartet's commitment to contemporary music also won special recognition: a 2003-2004 national CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, given jointly by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

During the celebratory 2006 season, they acknowledged the anniversary of the quartet's 60th year of continuous touring and recording along with Mozart's 250th anniversary and Shostakovich's 100th anniversary with a large selection of performances. They offered the complete cycle of Shostakovich quartets and nearly all of Mozart's celebrated quartets and quintets at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

For the 2008-2009 season, the Fine Arts Quartet is offering a fascinating mix of tour programming including works by a Arriaga, Antheil, Beethoven, Debussy, Glass, Grieg, Herrmann, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky.

On the studio front: The Fine Arts Quartet has just recorded the complete early Beethoven quartets (Op.18) for the Lyrinx label, to be released later this year in SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) format. Naxos will also release their recording of the complete Schumann quartets this summer.

A recent sampling of the Fine Arts Quartet's busy touring season includes a set of concerts at the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, including rare performances of four Mozart piano concertos in Mozart's original quintet version; joining the jury at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition; performing a series of concerts and teaching at the Yale University Summer School of Music; performing at the Festival of Radio France; teaching at the International Music Academy of Montpellier; performing and teaching at the Prades Music Festival and International Academy; and performing a quartet by composer-in-residence Behzad Rajbaran at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

During the summer of 2006, the Fine Arts Quartet appeared in some of Europe's most distinguished concert series: the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Vilnius Festival, Festival de Quatuors à Cordes du Luberon, Nuits Musicales du Suquet in Cannes, Rencontres Musicales Internationales des Graves, Festival d'Été de Bordeaux, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Vichy Festival, Festival de l'Orangerie de Sceaux, Nancyphonies - Festival de Nancy, Festival aux Chandelles and the Stuttgart Festival

The Fine Arts Quartet is in residence at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts. To visit the Fine Arts Quartet's home page, click here.