Arditti Quartet

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The Arditti Quartet is an internationally acclaimed string quartet founded in 1974. The quartet is associated particularly with contemporary music.

The Arditti Quartet enjoys a world-wide reputation for their spirited and technically refined interpretations of contemporary and earlier 20th century music. Several hundred string quartets and other chamber works have been written for the ensemble since its foundation by first violinist Irvine Arditti (b. London, 1953) in 1974. These works have left a permanent mark on 20th century repertoire and have given the Arditti Quartet a firm place in music history. World premieres of quartets by composers such as Christophe Bertrand, Harrison Birtwistle, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Sofia Gubaidulina, Harvey, Hosokawa, Mauricio Kagel, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, Conlon Nancarrow, Kjell Perder, Reynolds, Wolfgang Rihm, Manuel Rocha Iturbide, Giacinto Scelsi, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis show the wide range of music in the Arditti Quartet’s repertoire.

The ensemble believes that close collaboration with composers is vital to the process of interpreting modern music and therefore attempts to work with every composer it plays. The players' commitment to educational work is indicated by their masterclasses and workshops for young performers and composers all over the world. From 1982 to 1996 the quartet’s members were resident string tutors at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music.

The Arditti Quartet’s extensive discography now features over 150 CDs. Forty-two discs have been released as part of the ensemble’s continuing series on the French label Naïve Montaigne. The series presents numerous contemporary composer features as well as the first digital recordings of the complete Second Viennese School's string quartet music. Stockhausen’s infamous Helicopter Quartet is to be found here. As well as many composer portraits recorded in their presence, the complete quartets of Luciano Berio were recorded shortly before his death. Latest releases include music by Ades, Cage, Fedele, Finsterer, Frith, Ingolfsson, Neuwirth and Paredes

Over the past 25 years, the ensemble has received many prizes for its work. They have won the Deutsche Schallplatten Preis several times and the Gramophone Award for the best recording of contemporary music in 1999 (Elliott Carter) and 2002 (Harrison Birtwistle). The prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize was awarded to them in 1999 for "lifetime achievement" in music.

[edit] Members

Irvine Arditti (violin)
Ashot Sarkissjan (violin)
Ralf Ehlers (viola)
Lucas Fels (cello)

[edit] Members of the quartet

Irvine Arditti founded the quartet when he was a student at the Royal Academy of Music by suggestion of the then Manson Fellow of Composition Paul Patterson, who needed an ensemble to perform Penderecki's string quartet No.1 at the Academy. Ashot Sarkissjan joined the quartet in June 2005, replacing Graeme Jennings who was second violinist from 1994-2005. Previous Second Violinists have included David Alberman (1985-1994), Alexander Balanescu (1983-1985) and Lennox Mackenzie (1974-1983).Ralf Ehlers joined the Arditti in January 2003, replacing Dov Scheindlin who was Violist from 1998-2002. Prior to him, the violist was Garth Knox (1990-1997) and Levine Andrade (1974-1990). Lucas Fels joined the quartet in December 2005, replacing Rohan de Saram who was the cellist of the group from 1977. The original cellist was John Senter (1974-1976), followed by Helen Liebmann (1976-1977).