The Brodsky Quartet was a

string quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

led by Adolph Brodsky. It was established on 1884, while Brodsky was professor at the

Leipzig Conservatoire The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest univ ...

. The founding members, aside from Brodsky (1st

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

) were

Ottokar Nováček Ottokar Eugen Nováček (13 May 1866 – 3 February 1900) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian violinist, violist and composer of Czech people, Czech descent. He is perhaps best known for his work ''Perpetuum Mobile'' (''Perpetual Motion''), ...

(2nd

Hans Sitt Hans Sitt (born Jan Hanuš Sitt on 21 September 1850, Prague – 10 March 1922, Leipzig), was a Bohemian violinist, violist, teacher, and composer. During his lifetime, he was regarded as one of the foremost teachers of violin. Most of the orches ...

(

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

) and Leopold Grützmacher (

violoncello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched 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, C ...

).Kohut 1900, pp. 84–85 In 1885, Hans Becker replaced Nováček (2nd violin) and Julius Klengel replaced Grützmacher. In 1888, Sitt was replaced by Nováček (viola), a former student of Brodsky. In 1891, Sitt replaced Nováček (viola) again and Arno Hilf replaced Brodsky, as the latter moved to the United States, accepting the invitation by

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...

to become

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

of the

New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...

. The quartet was renowned internationally and toured

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(1889),

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

(1890) and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(1891) as well as

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1895, Brodsky formed a second quartet named

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet", and subsequently named for Russian violinist Adolph Brodsky. Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members, ...

, when he settled in Manchester. Several years after an 1890 request by that quartet's cellist Carl Fuchs,

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

composed in 1918 his String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83 and dedicated it to the quartet.Moore (1999), p. 734: "On 24 December

918 __NOTOC__ Year 918 (Roman numerals, CMXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * December 23 – King Conrad I of Germany, Conrad I, injured at one of his battles with Arnulf, D ...

the Quartet was finished. Keeping an old promise from the turn of the century, lgardedicated it to the Brodsky Quartet"

Notes

References

* * * * by Henry Charles Lahee, page 153, Boston (1899): L.C. Page. * * * German string quartets {{Classical-ensemble-stub