The original quartet was brought together by their enthusiasm
for the Borodin Quartet and met in the class of outstanding maestro
and quartetist – Valentin Berlinsky. In 1975 all four were awarded
fellowship at the Moscow Gnessin’s Institute and during their
term there participated in two international competitions. In
1978 they appeared at the Leo Weiner International Competition
of String Quartets in Budapest (Hungary), and in 1979 at the International
Competition of String Quartets in Evian (France). The young musicians
won both of these competitions. They were the first Soviet group
to participate and win both first prizes at Evian: the Grand Prix
for best classical performance and first prize for best performance
of contemporary music. From this auspicious beginning, the quartet
advanced their musicianship, developing a unique performance style
early on. Their continued commitment to contemporary music distinguished
them from other chamber ensembles of the era.
In 1979 they chose Alfred Schnittke’s Quartet # 1 for performance
at the Evian Competition. This piece became their triumph; it
was received exceptionally well. By this time the musicians were
expanding their personal relationship with the composer. Following
MSQ’s performance of Schnittke’s quartet, the Competition ordered
from the composer a new quartet – the Second.
During the years of MSQ’s internship at the Gnessin’s Institute,
the young musicians started to play ensembles with musicians of
the older generation. The Borodin Quartet performed with MSQ repeatedly.
Evidence of their fruitful partnership is the joint recording
of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Octet for strings. This intense and rewarding
school of skill and traditions of Russian style performance contributed
significantly to MSQ’s maturation.
From the late 1970s the Moscow String Quartet began extensive
appearances across the breadth of the former Soviet Union and
recited in many other countries as well. The musicians played
in the most celebrated concert halls of Europe: the Small and
Big Halls of the Moscow Conservatory, the Small Hall of the St.
Petersburg Philharmonic, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, Wigmore Hall
in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palais de Beaux Arts
in Brussels, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Academy of Arts in Berlin,
and others. Prominent music festivals – such as the Holland Festival
and West Berlin Music Festival – soon became part of their musical
resume. They also participated in summer festivities in Paris,
London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Rydal, Cheltenham, Warwick (England),
the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, Brussels (Belgium), the Pablo Casals
Festival Prades, Catalonia (Spain), the Svyatoslav Richter Festival
– “December Nights”, and the “Palaces of Leningrad” Festival (Russia).
Many outstanding European musicians, including the Chalengrian
Quartet, cellist Arto Noras, clarinetists Andrew Mariner and Edward
Brunner, invited the Moscow Sting Quartet to play ensembles with
them.
Simultaneously, the musicians of the quartet were the passionate
propagandists of twentieth century Western music in Russia. The
Moscow String Quartet became the first performer of the Lyric
Sonata by Berg in Moscow. They played an extensive repertoire
of music by Webern, and became one of the organizers and participants
at the Webern Centennial Concert in Moscow.
The composer Gershkovich – a student of Schoenberg and Webern
– wrote in his letter to the members of the quartet about the
“complex performing problem which was so brilliantly solved” by
them in 1983. “Webern’s pieces, I can say, were played at an unreachable
level.” The Moscow String Quartet has also played Bartok’s quartets
and the Ode to Napoleon by Schoenberg. The first violin of the
Moscow String Quartet, Eugenia Alikhanova, participated in the
premiere of Schoenberg’s Trio for Strings in Moscow. In this area,
the Moscow String Quartet continued traditions established by
the Borodin Quartet and followed the patterns of such enlighteners
as the conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, violinist Gidon Kremer,
and pianist Alexei Lyubimov. The ensemble brought to Soviet audiences
pieces from the newest composers. MSQ became the first among Russian
performers of Luigi Nono’s quartet “Fragmente – Stille, An Diotima”
at Lyubimov’s festival “Alternative.” They were also the first
to play Tore Takemitsu’s quartet in Moscow. Many of these scores
were innovative, radically changing musical technique and artistic
images of quartet compositions.
The Moscow String Quartet has the honor of participating in establishing
the style of performance of outstanding contemporary creations
along with the composers. Refining techniques of dynamic nuance,
sophistication of rustling chord structures and astute pizzicato,
all make up the unique style of the ensemble’s performance. Aiming
for perfection, the absolute, these are the attributes of the
Moscow String Quartet.
The Moscow String Quartet’s premiere U.S. performance was at the
Grand Teton Summer Music Festival in 1990. While the musicians
continue to concretize in Russia, Europe and Asia, they also have
expanded the geography of their performances in the USA, Canada
and Mexico. They have appeared on the podiums of New York City
(Weil Recital Hall, a concert series at Frick Collection, concerts
in the series at People Symphony, in the Lotos Club and in the
Lyric Chamber Society at New York’s Kosciuszko Foundation), of
Philadelphia (Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Convention Center),
of Washington D.C. (White House, American Academy of Sciences,
Dumbarton Oaks), Seattle, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Dallas,
Montreal and Vancouver.
Recordings
of the Moscow String Quartet were issued by MCA (USA), Melodia
(Russia), Channel Classics (Holland), Russian Disc (USA/Russia),
Chant Du Monde (France) and Finer Arts Records (USA). The MSQ
has been featured in documentaries about Alfred Schnittke (1989,
Russian TV) and Sofia Gubaidulina (1988-1989, BBC). A documentary
movie about the Moscow String Quartet was produced by Denver Center
Media (1994).
