Fitzwilliam String Quartet
The Fitzwilliam Quartet first drew international acclaim for its performances and recordings of the 15 string quartets of Shostakovich. Having met the composer in his last years, the Fitzwilliam players became instrumental in gaining currency for the Shostakovich quartets, becoming the first to record them complete (in a series originally released on L'oiseau-Lyre LPs 1975-1979) and reissued later on Decca CDs. But the Fitzwilliam Quartet has hardly limited itself to Shostakovich or early 20th century fare, as its repertory has encompassed works by J.S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and a spate of British composers that includes Vaughan Williams, Delius, Warlock, Finzi, and Bliss. The Fitzwilliam Quartet's recordings are available mostly on Decca and Linn Records.
The Fitzwilliam Quartet was formed in 1968 by four Cambridge University students: Christopher Rowland and Jonathan Sparey (violins), Alan George (viola), and Ioan Davies (cello). The four were mentored by founder/violinist in the Griller Quartet, Sidney Griller (Royal Academy of Music), who was also instrumental in shaping the Alberni, Coull, Lindsay, and Medici quartets.
There have been several changes over the years in the Fitzwilliam: the 2011 personnel includes both Sparey and George, Lucy Russell (first violin), joining in 1988 and becoming leader in 1995; and Heather Tuach (cello), joining in 2008, replacing Andrew Skidmore.
The Fitzwilliam Quartet gave their first concert in 1969, and began their professional career upon appointment as quartet-in-residence at York University in 1971. The following year the Fitzwilliam gave the western premiere of the 1970 Shostakovich Thirteenth Quartet, from parts sent by the composer. That same year the group met Shostakovich, and he entrusted the ensemble to give the western premieres of his last two quartets.
The Fitzwilliam Quartet served as quartet-in-residence at Warwick University from 1974-1977, and again at York University from 1977-1986. By the mid-'80s it was internationally acclaimed, and regularly toured Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere across the globe. In 2000 the ensemble began recording for Linn Records, its first effort being Haydn's Seven Last Words. The Fitzwilliam's concert tours in the new century have included South Africa (2001), Russia (2004), and U.S., Spain, and Switzerland (2006).
In 2009-2010 it served as artist-in-residence at the Ryedale Music Festival (North Yorkshire, England) and at the Festival de l'Abbaye du Pin (France). Among its recordings is the 2007 Linn Records CD On Wenlock Edge, with tenor James Gilchrist and other instrumentalists.
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Discography
12 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Schubert: Late String Quartets. G Major & C Minor 'Quartettsatz'
Klassiek - Released by Linn Records on 29 okt. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: String Quintet - String Quartet
Fitzwilliam String Quartet, James Boyd
Klassiek - Released by Linn Records on 16 okt. 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Last Three String Quartets, 50th Anniversary Recording
Klassiek - Released by Linn Records on 25 okt. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B Minor
Fitzwilliam String Quartet, Lesley Schatzberger
Klassiek - Released by Linn Records on 15 jan. 2007
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: The Seven Last Words
Klassiek - Released by Linn Records on 1 apr. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge
James Gilchrist, Anna Tilbrook, Fitzwilliam String Quartet
Klassiek - Released by Linn Records on 1 jan. 2007
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Intricate Web
Fitzwilliam String Quartet, Heather Tuach, Ronald Woodley, Loré Lixenberg, Alan George
Klassiek - Released by Metier on 19 mei 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach and the Stile Antico
St Salvator’s Chapel Choir, Ars Eloquentiae, Fitzwilliam String Quartet
Klassiek - Released by SANCTIANDREE on 15 apr. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Salvator Mundi - The Purcell Legacy
St Salvator's Chapel Choir, Fitzwilliam String Quartet
Klassiek - Released by SANCTIANDREE on 5 mei 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: String Quartets
Kamermuziek - Released by Divine Art on 14 feb. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ramsay: String Quartets Nos. 1-4
Kamermuziek - Released by Metier on 20 feb. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Steinmetz: Absolutely!
Uwe Steinmetz, Mads Tolling, Fitzwilliam String Quartet
Kamermuziek - Released by Divine Art on 30 sep. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo