Emerson String Quartet Biography

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Gisele Schierhorst

In 2001, a year before joining Stony Brook University’s prestigious Music Department, the Emerson String Quartet published its biography, Converging Lines: the Extraordinary Story of the Emerson String Quartet’s First 25 Years. The Music Library has several copies. It is highly recommended reading and an enjoyable way to learn more about the events featured in the ESQ exhibit that lines the Music Library’s front corridor.

The book tells how the Quartet came into being, and each of its members supplies a brief biography in his own words. The decision behind the name of the Quartet is discussed, as are the early changes in personnel, and the influences of family members, (many of whom were working musicians), teachers, schools and mentors. There are memorable anecdotes and beautiful photographs, and highlights of the many achievements listed include the Quartet’s Naumburg Award in 1978 ; its performance of all six Bartok quartets in a single evening at Alice Tully Hall in March 1981 ; the signing of an exclusive contract with record company Deutsche Grammophon in March 1987 ; and winning the first two of its nine Grammy awards in 1990. The Emerson’s tours, premieres, and collaborations are thoughtfully covered, and congratulatory messages conclude the book, including this one by composer Ned Rorem, which he typed, remarkably, on September 11, 2001:

For the Emerson Quartet:

In an increasingly one-dimensional world, truly good music has come to be a cry in the wilderness. Yet this cry is forceful by its very rarity, and never has it sounded more thrilling than through the Emerson String Quartet. These four young players, alone and together, are dedicated, polished, and virtuosically inspired.

Ours is the only period in history wherein the performance of music of the past takes precedence over music of the present. Again the Emerson is a responsible exception: for 25 years they have championed living composers of every language. Speaking for myself, their creation of my Fourth Quartet was one of my happiest experiences; they played at the same speed as the blood flowing through my veins.

The Emerson is technically the best, and sociologically the most interesting, string-quartet in America today.

Signed, Ned Rorem

Congratulations again to the Emerson String Quartet, the University’s Quartet-In-Residence since 2002, for over 40 years of stellar performances and recordings!