The Fitzwilliam Quartet or Fitzwilliam String Quartet (FSQ) is a British

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 ...

. The group was founded in 1968 by four

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

undergraduates. There have been a number of changes in personnel over the years, but Alan George from the original quartet is still a member as of 2019. It currently consists of Alan George,

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 ...

; Sally Pendlebury,

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 ...

; and Lucy Russell and Marcus Barcham Stevens,

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 ...

s. The Fitzwilliam Quartet was one of the first of a long line of

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 ...

s to have emerged under the guidance of Sidney Griller at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

. They became well known through their close personal association with

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

, who befriended them following a visit to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

to hear them play. He entrusted them with the Western premières of his last three quartets, and before long they had become the first group to perform and record all fifteen. These recordings gained international awards, and secured for the quartet a worldwide concert schedule and a long term contract with

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

/London. In 1977, they won the first ever Gramophone Award for

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

. In November 2005 the Shostakovich set was included in '' Gramophone'' magazine's "100 Greatest Recordings". Today, the FSQ performs a wide repertoire, from the late 17th century to the present day, and remains one of the few established quartets to play on historical instrument setups. In May 2000, a collaboration with

Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...

began with

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's '' The Seven Last Words of Christ''. Recordings continued with the Brahms Clarinet Quintet together with

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

ist Lesley Schatzberger. They have made a disc of 20th-century English songs with piano quintet (including Vaughan Williams's ''On Wenlock Edge''), featuring collaborations with James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook. 2012 saw the release of two contemporary recordings, by geologist and composer John Ramsay on Divine Art Records and by South African composer and pianist Michael Blake. In 2018, they cooperated with visual artist Maryleen Schiltkamp. In addition to his Fitzwilliam duties, Alan George is the Musical Director of the Academy of St Olave's chamber orchestra.

Residencies

They have been resident quartet at several universities, including the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

in 1974–1977. In 1998, they re-established their connection with

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

, their namesake and their original rehearsal venue, when they were appointed Resident Quartet; they perform and lead workshops at the college. In 2010 they began a residency at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in Scotland, where they hold an annual string chamber music workshop, Strings in Spring. They are in residence at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

Fitzwilliam Quartet
{{Authority control English string quartets Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Grammy Award winners Musical groups from Cambridge Musical groups established in 1968 Musicians of the University of Warwick