Philadelphia String Quartet

Origin| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres| Classical
Years active| 1960 (1960) \- 1992 (1992)

Musical artist

The Philadelphia String Quartet was an American string quartet founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA in 1959-60, by four members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. They later broke off from the orchestra and accepted a residency at the University of Washington (UW).

## History

[edit]

Veda Reynolds, Irv Eisenberg, Alan Iglitzin, Charlie Brennand

The founding members of the Philadelphia String Quartet were all members of the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Ormandy. They included Veda Reynolds,[1][2] first violin, Irwin Eisenberg, second violin, Alan Iglitzin, viola, and Charles Brennand, cello. In 1961, the group was appointed quartet in residence at University of Pennsylvania. The original quartet made its New York City debut at Carnegie Hall during the 1963-64 season.[3][4]

The foursome resigned from the orchestra to become quartet-in-residence at the University of Washington (UW) in 1966. The move angered Philadelphia Orchestra management, which sued UW to prevent the quartet's departure, claiming a contract violation. The players eventually won the right to leave the orchestra.[5][6]

In 1966, the quartet moved to Seattle to become UW's Quartet-in-Residence, a position it held until 1982. [7] A fiscal crisis at the university ended their 17-year long contract.[8]

In 1968, the US State Department invited the quartet to become the first American string quartet to perform in India. The two-month tour covered the entire country, with concerts played to great acclaim in 14 cities. During its 30-year tenure, the quartet repeatedly toured the world and recorded an extensive chamber music repertoire.[9] [10] From 1976-77, the quartet played the entire cycle of quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven, including the Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Quartet No. 16 in F Major, and the Grosse Fugue.

They championed new music, and had a close musical relationship with the American composer, George Rochberg. They commissioned and premiered his 2nd quartet.[11] They had a close relationship with Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. [12] The Philadelphia String Quartet worked with Ginastera extensively before they performed the world premiere of his revised 2nd quartet.[13]

The founding quartet earned the Washington Governor's Arts Award. A quartet of their UW students won the Coleman Chamber Music competition prize. Their residency included relationships with Washington State University, Eastern Washington University and Central Washington University where the quartet held open rehearsals and performed with faculty members. Their LPs included works from Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bergsma, Bercera, Chihara,[14] and other living composers.[15]

PSQ with Stanley, Irv, Charlie and Alan

Reynolds departure in 1975 marked the end of the quartet's original members. Violinist Stanley Ritchie filled the opening. Brennand died in 1976, replaced cellist Carter Enyeart. They performed the Beethoven Cycle at Meany Hall at UW, and continued to tour internationally.[16]

From 1983-1987 the quartet consisted of members Karen Iglitzin, 1st violinist and Iglitzin's daughter, Eisenberg, Alan Iglitzin, and Roger Lebow, followed by Alexander Segal. They performed across the US, including many university and community residencies.[17] The quartet also toured Brazil, Columbia, and Chile in 1983 and India in 1985.

In 1984, Alan Iglitzin founded the Concerts-in-the-Barn[18] at the Olympic Music Festival. It was awarded Best Classical Music Festival by readers of Seattle Weekly. Karen Iglitzin founded the "Chamber Music Institute" in 1984, which operated in the summer on the farm. Many teenagers came to live and study quartets with the Philadelphia String Quartet. Alumni included many who became professional players. The Olympic Music Festival name passed to another organization,[19] but the original barn series continued.[20]

The name of the quartet was revived by violist Radhames Santos.[21]

## Members

[edit]

### 1st violinists

[edit]

* Co-founder, Veda Reynolds, (b:1922-d: 2000) Served as 1st violinist from 1960-1975 [22]
* Stanley Ritchie, from 1975-1981
* Peter Marsh, from 1982-1983
* Karen Iglitzin, from 1983-1987
* Stefan Hersh, from 1988-1992

### 2nd violinists

[edit]

* Co-founder, Irwin Eisenberg (1919-2014) Served as 2nd violinist from 1960-2000 [23]
* Roberta Hersh, from 1988-1992

### Violist

[edit]

* Co-founder: Alan Iglitzin (b:1931) Served as violist from 1960-2000

### Cellists

[edit]

* Co-founder, Charles Brennand (b:1929-d:1976) Served as cellist, 1960-1976 [24]
* Carter Enyeart, 1976-1982
* Roger Lebow, 1982-1984
* Alexander Segal, 1985-1987
* Jennifer Culp, 1988-1992

## References

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1. ^ "Collection: Veda Reynolds collection | Curtis Library and Archives". curtisarchives.libraryhost.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
2. ^ "Classical Archives". www.classicalarchives.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
3. ^ "About: Philadelphia String Quartet". data.carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
4. ^ "About: String Quartet No. 3, BB 93". data.carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
5. ^ "Orchestras: Flying the Coop". Time. 1966-10-07. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
6. ^ "Time Magazine -- U.S. Edition -- October 7, 1966 Vol. 88 No. 15". content.time.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
7. ^ "Philadelphia Sting Quartet". nwmusicarchives.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
8. ^ "Recession Presses Washington State". The New York Times. April 20, 1982. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
9. ^ "26.11.1974 - Philadelphia String Quartet". www.kammermusik.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
10. ^ "| 1967-68 season | Performance Archive | Friends of Chamber Music". focm.org. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
11. ^ Christiansen, Kai. "George Rochberg String Quartet no.2". Earsense.
12. ^ "Nov.1 1974 PSQ Program.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
13. ^ "Oct 10 1980 PSQ Program.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
14. ^ "Chihara (Paul) Papers". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
15. ^ "Author Search Results". libcat.colorado.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
16. ^ "Spokane Daily Chronicle - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
17. ^ Emmons, Josephine (May 1986). "The Philadelphia Comes to Ferndale". American String Teacher. 36 (2): 50–52\. doi:10.1177/000313138603600219. ISSN 0003-1313.
18. ^ "Concerts in the Barn Quilcene, WA". Concerts in the Barn Quilcene, WA. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
19. ^ "Olympic Music Festival". Olympic Music Festival. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
20. ^ "Concerts in the Barn Quilcene, WA". Concerts in the Barn Quilcene, WA. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
21. ^ "Best String Quartet in Philadelphia PA". www.philadelphiastringquartet.com. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
22. ^ Güsewell, Angelika; Vivien, Rym; Terrien, Pascal (2021). "Bringing to light a pedagogical heritage: an ergo-didactic approach". McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l'éducation de McGill. 56 (2/3). ISSN 1916-0666.
23. ^ "Irwin Eisenberg Obituary (1919 - 2014) - Seattle, WA - The Seattle Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
24. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/01/archives/charles-brennand.htm

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