MOZART K.590 in F
HAYDN op 77/2 in F
BEETHOVEN op 135 in F
When the Houston Friends of Chamber Music commissioned a new work for its 50th anniversary celebrations, it was a no-brainer to select the Emerson String Quartet to play the premiere of the music, an exciting new quartet by the Rice composer, Pierre Jalbert.
The Emerson String Quartet is one of our Houston audience's favorites. Founded in 1976, the Quartet has the same players now who were in the group originally. An unusual feature of their performances is the alternation of the first and second violinists, Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer. Recently, along with violist, Lawrence Dutton, the musicians have chosen to play concerts while standing. Cellist, David Finckel, performs while seated on a platform. The musicians find that these new positions provide more freedom as they play, and now other professional string quartets are following their lead.
With nine Grammy® Awards (including two for Best Classical Album, an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group), three Gramophone Awards, the coveted Avery Fisher Prize and cycles of the complete Beethoven, Bartók, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich string quartets, it is no wonder that Time Magazine has named the Emerson String Quartet "America's greatest quartet."
And how can one surpass the London Times opinion that "... with musicians like this there must be some hope for humanity." This is why the Houston Friends of Chamber Music keeps bringing back the marvelous Emerson String Quartet!
Please enjoy this YouTube clip of the Emerson String Quartet performing the Shostakovich String Quartet No. 3 –
