violinist Areta Zhulla
violinist Ronald Copes
violist Roger Tapping
cellist Astrid Schween
With its artistry and vigor, the Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) continues to inspire audiences around the world. Founded in 1946, the ensemble draws on a deep and vital engagement to the classics while embracing the mission of championing new works, a vibrant combination of the familiar and the daring. Each performance of the Juilliard String Quartet is a unique experience, bringing together the four members’ understanding, commitment, and unceasing curiosity in sharing the wonders of the string quartet literature.
Adding to its celebrated discography, in 2021, an album of works by Beethoven, Bartók, and Dvořák was released by Sony Classical, as was a collection of The Early Recordings. In 2018, the JSQ released an album on Sony featuring the world premiere recording of Mario Davidovsky’s Fragments (2016) coupled with Beethoven’s Quartet, Op. 95, and Bartók’s Quartet No. 1. Additionally, Sony Classical’s 2014 reissue of the Juilliard Quartet’s landmark recordings of the first four Elliott Carter String Quartets, along with the 2013 recording of Carter’s Fifth Quartet, traces a remarkable period in the evolution of both the composer and the ensemble. The Quartet’s recordings of the Bartók and Schoenberg Quartets, as well as those of Debussy, Ravel, and Beethoven, have won Grammy Awards, and in 2011 the JSQ became the first classical music ensemble to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Recent seasons brought JSQ to Amsterdam, Vienna, Chicago, New York, and Sarasota, among others venues, in addition to their annual appearance at the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. The Quartet also visited the newly established Tianjin Juilliard School to give masterclasses. In keeping with its mission to support the creation of invigorating new repertoire, the JSQ recently premiered One Hundred Years Grows Shorter Over Time by Lembit Beecher and has commissioned the celebrated German composer Jörg Widmann to write two quartets to be premiered alongside late quartets by Beethoven.
Devoted master teachers, the members of the Juilliard String Quartet offer classes and open rehearsals when on tour. The JSQ is String Quartet-in-Residence at Juilliard, where its members serve on the string and chamber music faculties. Each May, they host the five-day, internationally recognized Juilliard String Quartet Seminar. During the summer, the ensemble works closely with students at the Tanglewood Music Center on string quartet repertoire.
