The First Piano Quartet was a

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

s first organized in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1941. Its founding members were Vladimir Padwa, George Robert, Adam Garner, and Henry Holt. The quartet was originally conceived of as a radio group, with a weekly show that soon became twice weekly. In 1943,

Franz Mittler Franz Mittler (April 14, 1893 in Vienna – December 28, 1970 in Munich) was an Austrian (and later on an American) composer, musician, and humorist. Life and work Mittler was born in Vienna. His maternal grandmother financed his earliest musical ...

and Edward Edson replaced George Robert and Henry Holt, who had joined the army. The quartet made its New York concert debut in 1949. The quartet toured extensively with their four Steinway pianos from the 1940s through the late 1950s, and made recordings in the 1940s and 1950s. Most of its arrangements were made by Adam Garner. By 1950, Padwa had left the quartet, replaced temporarily by George Robert. In 1952, Glauco D'Attili (1920–2007) became the latest member, replacing George Robert. D'Attili, a former child prodigy from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

was brought to the United States in 1927 by Benjamino Gigli and was probably the most well-known of the group. He appeared, along with Edward Edson, Adam Garner, and Frank Mittler, in two movie shorts for 20th Century Fox in 1954, ''The First Piano Quartette'' and ''Piano Encores''. Both were directed by

Otto Lang :''see also Otto Lang (film producer) and Otto Lang (actor)'' Otto Emil Lang (born 14 May 1932) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician. Life and career Lang was born in Handel, Saskatchewan. In 1961, he was appointed Dean of Law at the U ...

, and ''The First Piano Quartette'' was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 1954 in the category ''Best Short Subject, One-reel''. The group also appeared on both

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

(Episode #7.30) and

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...

. In the mid-1950s D'Attili was replaced by William Gunther (Sprecher) and the quartet renamed itself to the ''Original Piano Quartet''. The quartet appeared under its new name at Town Hall, New York on March 29, 1962. In 1970 William Gunther asked

Rami Bar-Niv Rami Bar-Niv (; born December 1, 1945) is an Israeli pianist, composer and author. Life and career Bar-Niv is a graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, where he studied piano with Karol Klein and composition with Paul Ben-Haim, Al ...

to replace him in the quartet. Bar-Niv was part of the quartet until he returned to Israel in 1972. The First Piano Quartet's collection of music is housed in the Music Division of the

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

References

Bibliography

External links