TOKYO STRING QUARTET

The Tokyo String Quartet has captivated audiences and critics alike since it was founded close to 40 years ago. Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, the Tokyo Quartet—Martin Beaver and Kikuei Ikeda (violins), Kazuhide Isomura (viola) and Clive Greensmith (cello)—has collaborated with a remarkable array of artists and composers, built a comprehensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings and established a distinguished teaching record. Performing over a hundred concerts worldwide each season, the quartet has a devoted international following that includes the major capitals of the world and extends to all four corners, from Australia to Estonia to Scandinavia and the Far East.

Celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, the quartet marks the occasion with a series of concerts in Tokyo's Oji Hall. Presenting three concerts with the theme “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, 'Yesterday” will repeat the Beethoven, Berg and Bartok program from their 1970 New York debut; 'Today' will feature a program decided by the audience in an internet vote; and 'Tomorrow' will highlight a gifted young Japanese musician.

In keeping with their dedication to new work, this spring the Tokyo Quartet will premier a commission by acclaimed Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. Iglesias, renowned for his film scores and in particular for his partnership with director Pedro Almodóvar, received recent Oscar nominations for The Kite Runner and The Constant Gardener.

In residence at New York's 92nd St.Y, the Tokyo embarks on the second year of a three-year project performing Beethoven's revered quartet cycle. This season, joined by three distinguished pianists in an innovative series juxtaposing string quartets with key piano sonatas from the same period, they will perform Beethoven's landmark “middle” quartets.

Other collaborations this season include a benefit for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society with Emanuel Ax, concerts in Madrid with the soprano Sophie Daneman, and quintet performances with Michael Tree, Benjamin Hochman, Leon Fleisher and Markus Groh.

Traveling extensively overseas each year, the Tokyo will launch the 2009-2010 season as one of four quartets performing in the Mendelssohn Festival at Leipzig's Gewandhaus. They have been invited to play in Prague, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Riga and at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg, in addition to cities in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Austria, Canada and The Netherlands.

Deeply committed to coaching young string quartets, the quartet devotes much of the summer to the prestigious Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, having served on the faculty of the Yale School of Music as quartet-in-residence since 1976. The quartet also returns to Japan to teach and perform in Sapporo at the Pacific Music Festival and in Toyama at the Toho Gakuen Graduate School of Music.

The Tokyo String Quartet has released more than 40 landmark recordings on BMG/RCA Victor Red Seal, Angel-EMI, CBS Masterworks, Deutsche Grammophon and Vox Cum Laude, including the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert and Bartók. The quartet's recordings of Brahms, Debussy, Dvorák, Haydn, Mozart, Ravel and Schubert have earned such honors as the Grand Prix du Disque Montreux, "Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year" awards from both Stereo Review and Gramophone magazines and seven Grammy nominations.

Following the highly praised recordings of Beethoven's Op. 59 and Op. 18 string quartets produced by Harmonia Mundi, the ensemble in an exclusive contract with the label released a disc of Beethoven's Op. 74 and Op. 95 quartets last winter, where it quickly climbed the Billboard charts and was named “Outstanding Recording” by the International Record Review. The late quartets, recorded in Tokyo's superb Oji Hall, will be released in the spring of 2010, completing the entire cycle.

The Tokyo String Quartet has been featured on numerous television programs, including "Sesame Street," "CBS Sunday Morning," PBS's "Great Performances," "CNN This Morning" and a national television broadcast from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, as well as on the soundtrack for the Sidney Lumet film Critical Care, starring Kyra Sedgwick and James Spader.
The ensemble performs on the "Paganini Quartet", a group of renowned Stradivarius instruments named for legendary virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, who acquired and played them during the 19th century. The instruments have been on loan to the ensemble from the Nippon Music Foundation since 1995, when they were purchased from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Officially formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music, the Tokyo String Quartet traces its origins to the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Professor Hideo Saito. Instilled with a deep commitment to chamber music, the original members of what would become the Tokyo String Quartet eventually came to America for further study with Robert Mann, Raphael Hillyer and Claus Adam. Soon after its formation, the quartet won First Prize at the Coleman Competition, the Munich Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. An exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon firmly established it as one of the world's leading quartets.