Arditti Quartet

From Sequenza21/NetNewMusic Wiki

Media:http://www.ownvoice.com/ardittiquartet/images/Quartet_col.jpg

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 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 Birtwistle, Cage, Carter, Dillon, Ferneyhough, Gubaidulina, Harvey, Hosokawa, Kagel, Kurtag, Lachenmann, Ligeti, Nancarrow, Reynolds, Rihm, Scelsi, Stockhausen and Xenakis show the wide range of music in the Arditti Quartet’s repertoire.

The Arditti Quartet’s extensive discography now features over 130 CDs. 42 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, and Neuwirth.