The Cavani String 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 ...

based in Cleveland, Ohio. The quartet is named for the 19th century

violin makers A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

Giovanni and Vincenzo Cavani. The quartet formed in 1984 and became the Quartet-in-Residence at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educa ...

in 1988. They have collaborated for many years in special performances with the poet Mwatabu Okantah. The quartet has recorded music by

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hun ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist exampl ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

, Dan Welcher,

Donald Erb Donald Erb (January 17, 1927 – August 12, 2008) was an American composer best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and ''Ritual Observances''. Early years Erb was born in Youngstown, Ohio, graduat ...

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a ...

Leo Brouwer Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cuban composer, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council. Family He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casa ...

, and James Primosch for the Albany, Azica, Gasparo, New World, and Pantheon labels. They won the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1989. For their 20th anniversary, they commissioned the work ''Musings for String Quintet'' from composer

Joseph Hallman Joseph Hallman (born Nov. 20, 1979) is an American composer. A functional orphan, Hallman was born and raised in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Girard College from first to twelfth grades. Based in Philad ...

. The premiere took place with

Alisa Weilerstein Alisa Weilerstein (born April 14, 1982) is an American classical cellist. She was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. Life and career Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York. to a secular Jewish family. She started playing the cello at age four. ...

, cellist, at the

. The quartet has been partners with many organizations, including the Chamber Music Connection, led by Debbie Price. They also run many free concerts for growing and learning string players, many of whom are under age 18. In June 2018, the Cleveland Institute of Music announced the severance of its affiliation with the Cavani String Quartet.

Members

*Annie Fullard, violin I (founding member) *Catherine Cosbey, violin II (joined 2019) *Eric Wong, viola (joined 2016) *Kyle Price, cello (joined 2019)

Past members

*Kirsten Docter, viola (founding member 1984–2016) *Merry Peckham, cello (founding member 1984–2016) *Erika Eckert, viola (founding member 1984–1993) *Mari Sato, violin (1995–2019) *Susan Waterbury, violin (founding member) *Si-Yan Darren Li, cello (2017–2018)

References

External links

Cavani String Quartet official site

Dave DeOreo, 'Cavani String Quartet Presses the Refresh Button' WCPN 90.3 FM, 'Ideastream' blog, 19 January 2018
Musical groups established in 1984 American string quartets Musical groups from Cleveland Cleveland Institute of Music {{classical-ensemble-stub