The Brentano Quartet is an American

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

History

Founded in 1992 at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most eli ...

, the quartet's founding members were

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/composers ...

s Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin,

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= * Violin famil ...

Misha Amory, and

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

Michael Kannen. At the suggestion of Canin's husband, a pianist, the quartet took its name from

Antonie Brentano Antonie Brentano (28 May 1780 in Vienna – 12 May 1869 in Frankfurt), born Johanna Antonie Josefa Edle von Birkenstock, known as Toni, was a philanthropist, art collector, arts patron, and close friend of Beethoven, being the dedicatee of his ...

, who has been proposed as

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's "

Immortal Beloved The Immortal Beloved (German "Unsterbliche Geliebte") is the addressee of a love letter which composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on 6–7 July 1812 in Teplitz. The unsent letter is written in pencil on 10 small pages. It was found in the comp ...

". The quartet made its public New York City concert debut in February 1994. In 1995, the quartet received the Naumburg Award and the Martin Segal Prize. Kannen left the quartet in May 1998, following his wife's injury in an automobile accident, to care for his young child. Nina Lee then joined the quartet as the ensemble's cellist. The quartet has since worked together with Kannen as guest cellist, such as in concerts in March 2008 at the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State bec ...

and in September 2014 at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

. Kannen has also returned as a substitute cellist with the quartet when Lee was pregnant. In 1999, the quartet became the first ensemble-in-residence at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, having first performed as guest artists at Princeton in 1993. The quartet appeared for the first time at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas, where they performed piano quintets with each of the competition's 12 semifinalists. The quartet held their Princeton residency until 2014. In November 2013, the Brentano Quartet was announced as the new faculty quartet-in-residence at the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

, in succession to the Tokyo String Quartet, effective in July 2014. The Brentano Quartet has commissioned new compositions from such composers as Gabriela Lena Frank, and also have commissioned new works under the umbrellas of 'Art of the Fugue Project' and 'Fragments Project'. The quartet has made commercial recordings for such labels as

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best a ...

. In other media, the quartet was featured on the soundtrack of the 2012 film ''

A Late Quartet ''A Late Quartet'' (released in Australia as ''Performance'') is a 2012 American drama film directed by Yaron Zilberman and co-written by Zilberman and Seth Grossman. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, M ...

''. Lee made a cameo appearance in the film as a fictionalised version of herself, as the cellist of a fictitious piano trio led by

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from New Jersey American string quartets Erato Records artists 1992 establishments in New York City