The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet". Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas[1] are original members, though Paul Cassidy remains a long-standing member, joining in 1982.

In addition to performing and recording classical music, and in particular the string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók, Zemlinsky, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel and Shostakovich, they have collaborated with such rock and pop figures as Björk, Elvis Costello, Sting, Katie Noonan and Paul McCartney. With Elvis Costello they co-wrote the Juliet Letters, released and toured in 1993. They perform the "Strings" on Björk's Family Tree box set. This material mostly comes from concerts Björk and the Brodsky gave at London's Union Chapel in December 1999.

The Quartet has commissioned many contemporary composers including Errolynn Wallen, Isidora Zebeljan, Elena Virsova, Andrea Tarodi, Theo Verbey, Javier Alvarez, John Tavener, Andrew Ford, Julian Nott and Gorge Grundmann, and championed new work from composers such as Mario Lavista, Osvaldo Golijov and Peter Sculthorpe.

The quartet has performed standing up since 1992. Jacqueline Thomas sits on a podium, bringing her to the same head height as her colleagues, but sometimes also stands, using a small stool under her left foot, so that the instrument can rest against her bent knee.

In May 1998 the Brodsky Quartet was presented with a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for an outstanding contribution to innovation in programming. In 1999 they received Honorary Fellowship at Teesside University and in 2004 they were awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Kent.

As well as their performance and recording work, the Brodsky Quartet was Quartet in Residence at Cambridge University in the 1980s, International Chair of Chamber Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland from 2007 and holds visiting residencies at many establishments worldwide.[2] For fourteen years they taught and performed at the Dartington International Summer School.[3]

The Brodsky Quartet are also known for their arranging of non-quartet repertoire for use as concert encores. These have been compiled into various recordings, including Brodsky Unlimited, Petits Fours and Golden Oldies. They have worked in music theatre productions including Complicité's The Noise of Time, Brian Friel's Performances (with Rosamund Pike and Henry Goodman) and Bill Barclay's Letters to a Young Poet.

The Brodsky Quartet is not the first quartet of that name. They are named for Russian violinist Adolph Brodsky (1851–1929), who was performed the world premiere of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and was founder of two quartets under the Brodsky name. In 1918 Edward Elgar dedicated his String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83 to the 2nd Adolph Brodsky quartet.[4][5]

The Brodsky Quartet has an extensive discography of over seventy recordings, having been signed by IMP, ASV, Teldec, Challenge, Vanguard, Warner, Autor, Brodsky Records, SOMM, Kim, Silva Classics, Orchid, CPO, Hybrid and latterly Chandos. They left Chandos in 2023, deciding to end their recording career, following the release of three releases to mark their 50th anniversary; Rocking Horse Road with Jacqui Dankworth, Schubert's Cello Quintet with Laura Van Der Heijden and Golden Oldies, a compilation of their encore arrangements. They have collaborated with singers and instrumentalists worldwide, including Sir Willard White, Natasha Kudritskaya, Michael Collins, Joan-Enric Lluna, Leon Bosch, Laura van den Heijden, Natalie Clein, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Martin Roscoe, Tunde Jegede, John Harle, Craig Ogden, Martin Fröst, Nobuko Imai, Ryota Komatsu, Eddie Perfect, David Hansen.


Members

1972–1982

  • Michael Thomas
  • Ian Belton
  • Alexander Robertson
  • Jacqueline Thomas

1982–1999

  • Michael Thomas
  • Ian Belton
  • Paul Cassidy
  • Jacqueline Thomas

1999–2007

  • Andrew Haveron
  • Ian Belton
  • Paul Cassidy
  • Jacqueline Thomas

2007–2019

  • Daniel Rowland,[6][7]
  • Ian Belton
  • Paul Cassidy
  • Jacqueline Thomas

2019–2021

2021-

Awards and nominations

Edison Prize (The Juliet Letters)

Choc Du Monde

Royal Philharmonic Prize

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2016 With Love and Fury (with Katie Noonan) Best Classical Album Nominated [10]

References

  1. ↑ Staff (13 November 2008). "Jacqueline Thomas". BBC Tees. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  2. ↑ Staff. "Strings Staff". Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
  3. ↑ "Group History". Brodsky Quartet. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Kennedy, Michael (1987). Portrait of Elgar (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 355. ISBN 0-19-284017-7.
  5. ↑ Moore, Jerrold Northrop (1999). Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. Oxford University Press. pp. 299, 734. ISBN 978-0-19-816366-4.
  6. ↑ "Brodsky Quartet announces appointment of new violinist, Daniel Rowland". Hazard Chase musical management. August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  7. ↑ Rowland, Daniel. "Brodsky Quartet: Daniel's announcement". Daniel Rowland. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "Pop up news panel". Brodsky Quartet. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Pop up news panel". Brodsky Quartet. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  10. ↑ ARIA Award previous winners. "ARIA Awards – Winners by Award". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 9 July 2022.
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