Your 5 favourite String Quartet Ensembles

[kishnevi]

Keeping to ensembles that are currently active

Quatour Mosaiques
Quatour Ebene
Jerusalem Quartet
Pacifica Quartet
Emerson SQ

Impossible to justify these ensembles not being a list of all time greats
Alban Berg Quartet
Quartetto Italiano
Takacs Quartet
Borodin Quartet

I'm not clear if ABQ and Takacs are still in the active category; if so,  they would replace Ebene and Pacifica on the first list.

[North Star]

Takacs is most certainly active, with Schubert's String Quintet (with Kirshbaum) & String Quartet D703 coming out in November from Hyperion.

[Brahmsian]

The tally, after 14 votes:


Mosaiques   8
Quartetto Italiano   6
Alban Berg   4
Takacs   4
Vegh   4
Emerson   3
Jerusalem   3
Pavel Haas   3
Arditti   2
Budapest   2
Festetics   2
Fine Arts   2
Hagen   2
Leipziger Streichquartett   2
Pacifica   2
Prazak   2
Amadeus   1
Artemis   1
Busch   1
Carpe Diem   1
Ebene   1
Griller   1
Kuijken   1
Lindsays   1
Maggini   1
Marcolini   1
Panocha   1
Petersen   1
Prague   1
Schuppanzigh   1
Smetana   1
Taneyev   1
Tatrai   1
Vermeer   1

[liuzerus87]

Keeping to ensembles that are currently active

Quatour Mosaiques
Quatour Ebene
Jerusalem Quartet
Pacifica Quartet
Emerson SQ

Impossible to justify these ensembles not being a list of all time greats
Alban Berg Quartet
Quartetto Italiano
Takacs Quartet
Borodin Quartet

I'm not clear if ABQ and Takacs are still in the active category; if so,  they would replace Ebene and Pacifica on the first list.

ABQ is not active... they disbanded around the time of the Beijing olympics.

I had the pleasure of hearing them on their global farewell tour. They performed Haydn's 7 Last Words, Berg's Lyric Suite and Schubert's G major quartet. Their famous tone was as beautiful as ever, and while the Chicago Tribune professed to hear technical deterioration in the Schubert, I thought their ensemble work was still fantastic. Surely based on their playing, they could have continued for longer, but I guess the quartet couldn't get over the loss of Kakuska to cancer.

[snyprrr]

Arditti
Diotima
(JACK)
Bern(er)

Lindsay
Italiano

Nomos
Kuijken
Smithson
Schuppanzigh
ok... Mosaiques

Petersen

Parisii

Pellegrini

(old) Fine Arts

Composers
Columbia

Kreutzer
Danel

[Sergeant Rock]

Arditti
Diotima
(JACK)
Bern(er)

Lindsay
Italiano

Nomos
Kuijken
Smithson
Schuppanzigh
ok... Mosaiques

Petersen

Parisii

Pellegrini

(old) Fine Arts

Composers
Columbia

Kreutzer
Danel

That's 19, not 5. Math was not your strong suit? 

Sarge

[Brahmsian]

Arditti
Diotima
(JACK)
Bern(er)

Lindsay
Italiano

Nomos
Kuijken
Smithson
Schuppanzigh
ok... Mosaiques

Petersen

Parisii

Pellegrini

(old) Fine Arts

Composers
Columbia

Kreutzer
Danel

Synprrr, can you provide with 5, period?    This list is confusing.

I know Arditti and Lindsay.  Those are easily decipherable.     The rest, I'm not sure of.

Thanks!

[mc ukrneal]

Synprrr, can you provide with 5, period?    This list is confusing.

I know Arditti and Lindsay.  Those are easily decipherable.     The rest, I'm not sure of.

Thanks!

I think I may speak a smattering of snyprrrr....I think he means those two plus the other three bolded. There was a group called the Composers Quartet that spent 20+ years in residence at Columbia, which is the one that is confusing.

[Brahmsian]

I think I may speak a smattering of snyprrrr....I think he means those two plus the other three bolded. There was a group called the Composers Quartet that spent 20+ years in residence at Columbia, which is the one that is confusing.

Neal, I'm happy you able to desnyprrr (decipher) that message.  Thank you. 

[mc ukrneal]

Neal, I'm happy you able to desnyprrr (decipher) that message.  Thank you. 

It's kind of scary actually. I think I should be afraid...very afraid...    

[Octo_Russ]

Lindsay String Quartet
Hagen String Quartet
Tokyo String Quartet
Borodin String Quartet
Quartetto Italiano

[trung224]

Vegh
Budapest
Busch 
Alban Berg
Quatuor Mosaïques

[snyprrr]

I think I may speak a smattering of snyprrrr....I think he means those two plus the other three bolded. There was a group called the Composers Quartet that spent 20+ years in residence at Columbia, which is the one that is confusing.

No, actually the Composers Quartet is right, but I made some kind of mistake with 'Columbia',... I think I meant the Concord SQ,... I could have sworn there was a third, 'Columbia' SQ, but perhaps too many 'C's?

And no, the bolded ones weren't supposed to equal five. I was just wankin' off names and favs.

snyprrr decipher fail!! (wow, they got close with that one,... better gin up some confusing grammer,... that'll throw 'em off, bwa... bwa ha,... bwahahahahaha )

Usually,... USUALLY,... snyprrr knows what snyprrr means (it helps to note what time Posts are being Posted, haha,... 3am may yield different results than 8pm!!)




Obviously the Arditti are the preeminent, most famous rock stars on the scene today. No one even comes close to their achievement. HOW many SQs have they inspired? I dare say a whole revolution in SQ writing is due to them. When the kids ask me what my favorite 'band' is (uh,... though... they don't make 'bands' anymore, do they??,... oh yea, Kings of My Jacket,...), well,...

[Brahmsian]

No, actually the Composers Quartet is right, but I made some kind of mistake with 'Columbia',... I think I meant the Concord SQ,... I could have sworn there was a third, 'Columbia' SQ, but perhaps too many 'C's?

And no, the bolded ones weren't supposed to equal five. I was just wankin' off names and favs.

snyprrr decipher fail!! (wow, they got close with that one,... better gin up some confusing grammer,... that'll throw 'em off, bwa... bwa ha,... bwahahahahaha )

Usually,... USUALLY,... snyprrr knows what snyprrr means (it helps to note what time Posts are being Posted, haha,... 3am may yield different results than 8pm!!)




Obviously the Arditti are the preeminent, most famous rock stars on the scene today. No one even comes close to their achievement. HOW many SQs have they inspired? I dare say a whole revolution in SQ writing is due to them. When the kids ask me what my favorite 'band' is (uh,... though... they don't make 'bands' anymore, do they??,... oh yea, Kings of My Jacket,...), well,...

Snyprrr, can you just please name me 5 string quartet ensembles that you like best? 

[Leon]

The tally, after 14 votes:


Mosaiques   8
Quartetto Italiano   6
Alban Berg   4
Takacs   4
Vegh   4
Emerson   3
Jerusalem   3
Pavel Haas   3
Arditti   2
Budapest   2
Festetics   2
Fine Arts   2
Hagen   2
Leipziger Streichquartett   2
Pacifica   2
Prazak   2
Amadeus   1
Artemis   1
Busch   1
Carpe Diem   1
Ebene   1
Griller   1
Kuijken   1
Lindsays   1
Maggini   1
Marcolini   1
Panocha   1
Petersen   1
Prague   1
Schuppanzigh   1
Smetana   1
Taneyev   1
Tatrai   1
Vermeer   1

Interesting some (deserving) quartets that have received zero votes so far:

Guarneri
Julliard
Eder
Borodin (just noticed Octo_Russ had them)
Fitzwilliam
Shostakovich

[Brahmsian]

Interesting some (deserving) quartets that have received zero votes so far:

Guarneri
Julliard
Eder
Borodin (just noticed Octo_Russ had them)
Fitzwilliam
Shostakovich

Yes, Arnold.  I noticed this too.  I had Eder, Borodin and Fitzwilliam on the almost made my list.  Had I made a Top 10 list, they would been there for sure.

I'll revise the tally later this evening.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Arditti (the rock stars of contemporary music)
Emerson (Bartok, Webern)
Alban Berg (Beethoven)
Prazak (Beethoven, Dvorak)
Fitzwilliam (DSCH)

honorable mention:

Kronos (more for what they play and promote, than how they play it)

[not edward]

I'd probably say:

Budapest
Juilliard
Vegh
ABQ
Arditti

Of the more recent arrivals on the scene, I was tempted by the Petersen and Pavel Haas. And for a most-underrated, how about the Janacek Qt?

[DavidRoss]

Mosaïques
Hagen
Emerson
Kronos
Alexander

Takács-Vegh-Guarneri-Danels-Panocha-Pavel Haas

[Brahmsian]

Tally, after 19 votes:

Mosaiques   10
Alban Berg   7
Quartetto Italiano   7
Vegh   6
Emerson   5
Arditti   4
Budapest   4
Hagen   4
Takacs   4
Jerusalem   3
Pavel Haas   3
Prazak   3
Busch   2
Festetics   2
Fine Arts   2
Leipziger Streichquartett   2
Lindsays   2
Pacifica   2
Alexander   1
Amadeus   1
Artemis   1
Borodin   1
Carpe Diem   1
Ebene   1
Fitzwilliam   1
Griller   1
Julliard   1
Kronos   1
Kuijken   1
Maggini   1
Marcolini   1
Panocha   1
Petersen   1
Prague   1
Schuppanzigh   1
Smetana   1
Taneyev   1
Tatrai   1
Tokyo   1
Vermeer   1