The Arditti Quartet is an internationally acclaimed string quartet founded in 1974. The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

The quartet is particularly associated with contemporary music, and have given hundreds of first performances. It has given world premieres of music by Christophe Bertrand, Harrison Birtwistle, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Brian Ferneyhough, Sofia Gubaidulina, György Ligeti, Conlon Nancarrow, Martin Smolka, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kjell Perder and Iannis Xenakis. In the broadest sense, contemporary music is any music being written in the present day. ... Premiere, from French language première meaning first, generally means a first performance. Premieres for theatrical, musical, and other productions are often extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media attention. ... Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle, CH (born July 15, 1934) is a British composer, widely seen as one of the most significant modern composers from that country. ... John Cage For the character of John Cage from the TV show Ally McBeal see: John Cage (Character) John Milton Cage (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American experimental music composer, writer and visual artist. ... Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. ... Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (born 16 January 1943 in Coventry) is a British composer. ... Sofia Gubaidulina in Sortavala 1981 Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, (Russian София Асгатовна Губайдулина) (born October 24, 1931) is a Russian-Tatar composer of deeply religious music. ... György Sándor Ligeti (May 28, 1923 – June 12, 2006) was a Jewish Hungarian composer born in Romania who later became an Austrian citizen. ... Conlon Nancarrow (October 27, 1912 - August 10, 1997) was an American composer who took Mexican citizenship in 1955. ... Martin Smolka (born August 11, 1959 in Prague) is a contemporary Czech composer of classical music. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Iannis Xenakis Iannis Xenakis (Ιάννης Ξενάκης) (May 29, 1922 Brăila – February 4, 2001 Paris) was a Greek composer and architect who spent much of his life in Paris. ...

Members

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

Notes on members: Irvine Arditti founded the quartet when he was a student at the Royal Academy of Music. 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). Rohan de Saram was the cellist of the group from 1977, but branched out on his own in December 2005, to be replaced by Lucas Fels. The original cellist was John Senter (1974-1976), followed by Helen Liebmann (1976-1977). Graeme Jennings, born in 1968 in Australia, studied at the Queensland Conservatorium where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in 1989, and later on, at the San Francisco Conservatory, earning his Master’s Degree in 1992, and an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music in 1994. ... With Simon Jeffes, Helen Liebmann was a founding member of the avant garde music group Penguin Café Orchestra in 1973. ...

External links

• Official Website
• Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks