Founded in Chicago in 1946, the Fine Arts Quartet is one of the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive recording legacy. The Quartet, whose members are artists-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured internationally for over half a century. Three of the Quartet's current artists, Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, and Wolfgang Laufer, have now been performing together for over 25 years.
Each season, the Fine Arts Quartet tours worldwide, with concerts in such musical centers as New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Mexico City, and Toronto. The Quartet also continues to record actively, with over 65 works recorded since 1985. The latest releases include: the complete Schumann Quartets (8.570151), which the American Record Guide in 2007 called "one of the very finest chamber music recordings of the year"; chamber music by Glazunov (8.570256), which Musicweb International named one of the best "Recordings of the Year 2007"; the complete Mendelssohn String Quintets (8.570488); quartets by American composers Antheil, Herrmann, Glass, and Evans (8.559354); the complete Dohnányi Quartets and Quintets; and the complete early Beethoven Quartets. Releases planned for 2008-9 include the complete Bruckner chamber music, the Fauré Piano Quintets, the Franck Quartet/Piano Quintet, three Beethoven String Quintets, and three Shostakovich quartets.
The Fine Arts Quartet's complete Schumann Quartets CD on Naxos was selected for the 50th Grammy Awards Entry List (2008) in two categories: "Best Classical Album" and "Best Chamber Music Performance". In addition, the Quartet's recordings of the complete Mozart String Quintets, released by Lyrinx in SACD format, were selected for the 2003 Grammy Entry List and designated a "Critic's Choice 2003" by the American Record Guide. Special recognition was given for the Quartet's commitment to contemporary music: a 2003-2004 national CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, given jointly by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
The Quartet members have helped form and nurture many of today's top international young ensembles. They have been guest professors at the national music conservatories of Paris and Lyon, as well as at the summer music schools of Yale University and Indiana University. They also appear regularly as jury members of major competitions such as Evian, Shostakovich, and Bordeaux.
Documentaries on the Fine Arts Quartet have appeared on both French and American Public Television.
For more information on the Quartet, please visit: www.fineartsquartet.org
