Kolisch Quartet
The Kolisch String Quartet was founded in 1924 by violinist Rudolf Kolisch, a major advocate of advanced twentieth century music between the two world wars. The first Kolisch Quartet to remain stable enough to perform publicly was called Vienna Quartet and from 1924 presented European premieres of works by Bartók, Webern, Berg (Lyric Suite), Schoenberg, Hauer, Casella, and many other "modernist" works of the era, in addition to performing standard Viennese string quartets by Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven. It became the in-house quartet for Arnold Schoenberg's organization, the ISCM, and in 1929 the group changed its name to the Kolisch Quartet and made its first recordings.
By 1933, Hitler had already shuttered the German concert circuit against the Kolisch Quartet owing to its affiliation with modern composers, and the group concentrated its activity in England and Copenhagen until relocating to America in 1935. The quartet played concerts on the West Coast, where it recorded all four of Schoenberg's string quartets at a United Artists soundstage at the behest of Alfred Newman in late 1936 and linked up with chamber music patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. The group had difficulty adapting to the American concert scene, which had a more occasional regard to chamber music than had been the case in Europe, and the lineup of the Kolisch Quartet began to experience rapid changes in personnel. It made its last European tour in early 1939, its last recordings for American Columbia in 1940, and played its last concert in New York in May 1944.
Rudolf Kolisch had very exacting standards and was reputedly not the easiest quartet leader to deal with, and while the group's performances of modern literature -- and of Beethoven -- were considered authoritative, its readings of older Viennese literature was notoriously uneven. Nevertheless, the Kolisch Quartet was associated with many of the most important early twentieth century string quartets and was the first modern string quartet to play from memory.
© TiVo
Discography
8 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Schoenberg: String Quartets Nos. 1-4 (Arnold Schoenberg - Stefan George)
Classical - Released by Archiphon on 1 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Violinists, Vol. 16 (Franz Schubert)
Classical - Released by Symposium on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Kolisch Quartet Plays Schubert (1929, 1934)
Quartets - Released by Archiphon on 1 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, Schumann, Wolf (2022 Remastered)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, Kolisch Quartet
Classical - Released by Chemodanov Production on 30 Sep 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Recital: Kolisch, Rudolf - Schubert, F. / Bartok, B. / Schoenberg, A. / Berg, A. / Webern, A. (In Honor of Rudolf Kolisch) (1936-1967)
Chamber Music - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 27 May 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók & Stravinsky: Chamber Music
Budapest String Quartet, Kolisch Quartet, Krettly Quartet
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 1 Dec 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Kolisch Quartet (1929-1937)
Chamber Music - Released by Archiphon on 1 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Klemperer Conducts Schoenberg
Radio Zurich orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Kolisch Quartet, Otto Klemperer, Announcer, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Archiphon on 2 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo