Juilliard String Quartet's Sony Classical Releases Available Digitally

SONY CLASSICAL RELEASES DIGITAL RECORDINGS FOR DOWNLOAD BY THE JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET

WORKS INCLUDE THE COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS OF BEETHOVEN AND BARTˆìK; QUARTETS BY DEBUSSY, RAVEL AND DUTILLEUX; AND COLLABORATIONS WITH LEGENDARY MUSICIANS

Sony Classical has announced that its catalog of recordings by the Juilliard String Quartet is being made available for download. The Quartet has been associated with Sony since the ensemble's inception in 1946.

The releases are as follows:

Bartˆ„k: String Quartets Nos. 1-6

Beethoven: The Early String Quartets (Op. 18, Nos. 1-6)

Beethoven: The Middle String Quartets (Op. 59, Nos. 1-3; Opp. 74 & 95)

Beethoven: The Late String Quartets (Opp. 127, 130, 131, 132, 133 and 135)

Debussy/Ravel/Dutilleux: String Quartets

Great Collaborations

The members of the Juilliard String Quartet jointly stated, "We are thrilled that a substantial amount of our recorded legacy will now be available through the latest technology, for listeners of all ages. With Nick Eanet now joining the Quartet, we look forward to continuing our relationship with this great label."

Alex Miller, General Manager of Sony Masterworks, said, "The Quartet has a long and celebrated relationship with the label and we are delighted to begin making their remarkable and diverse catalogue available to the public digitally."

The first six recordings will include the complete string quartets of Beethoven and Bartˆ„k (the latter a Juilliard String Quartet specialty). On CDs, the Beethoven quartets comprised a total of nine discs (three three-disc sets); the Bartˆ„k quartets comprised two discs; the French collection one disc; and Great Collaborations two discs. All of the titles to be digitized have been released previously on CD; all titles also appeared on the LP format with the exception of the French disc, which was released on CD only.

The Great Collaborations release includes Dvorak's Piano Quintet with Rudolf Firkusny, piano; Barber's Dover Beach with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht with Walter Trampler, viola, and Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Schumann's Piano Quintet with Leonard Bernstein, piano; Copland's Sextet for Clarinet, Piano and Strings with Aaron Copland, piano, and Harold Wright, clarinet; and Franck's Piano Quintet with Jorge Bolet, piano.

Each title of the new releases will include a digital booklet of liner notes.

About the Juilliard String Quartet

The Juilliard String Quartet is internationally renowned and admired for performances characterized by clarity of structure, beauty of sound, purity of line and an extraordinary unanimity of purpose. Celebrated for its performances of works by composers as diverse as Beethoven, Schubert, Bartˆ„k and Elliott Carter, it has long been recognized as the quintessential American string quartet.

This 2009/10 season is the inaugural season with first violinist Nick Eanet. Highlights include Da Camera of Houston, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Shriver Hall Concert Series in Baltimore, dates at The Juilliard School, and tours in Japan and throughout Europe.

Recent seasons heard the JSQ in concert at the Kennedy Center, on tour in Australia, at the Konzerthaus Vienna, at the Palacio Real in Madrid, and at the Citˆ© de la musique in Paris with an accompanying two-day residency at the Conservatoire National Supˆ©rieur de Musique. The Juilliard String Quartet offered special programming in recognition of Elliott Carter's 100th birthday, performing the world premiere of his new Clarinet Quintet with Charles Neidich at The Juilliard School, the European premiere of the work at the Konzerthaus in Berlin, and his String Quartet No. 2 in concerts around the world. As ardent advocates of Carter's complex and visionary string quartets, the Juilliard's landmark recording of Quartets Nos. 1-4 was released by Sony in 1991.

The Quartet celebrated its 60^th anniversary season with complete Bartˆ„k cycles (the Juilliard Quartet played the American premiere of the Bartˆ„k cycle at Tanglewood in 1948) in major cities throughout the U.S. and Japan. In honor of both the Juilliard's 60^th birthday and the Shostakovich centennial, Sony BMG Masterworks released a 2-CD set of the Juilliard Quartet's recordings of Shostakovich Quartets Nos. 3, 14, 15 and the Piano Quintet with Yefim Bronfman. The Juilliard Quartet also celebrated Mozart's 250^th birthday, performing Quartets K. 421, K. 428 and K. 465, newly informed by first-edition parts recently donated to The Juilliard School. Other recent highlights include a pair of concerts presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall; the world premiere of Ezequiel Viˆ±ao's Quartet II, "The Loss and the Silence," commissioned for them by The Juilliard School in honor of its 2006 centennial; and international performances of Bach's "Art of the Fugue."

In 2003 the Quartet marked the celebrations of its 40^th anniversary as Quartet-in-Residence at the Library of Congress with a twelve-concert complete Beethoven cycle interspersed with works by American composers whose work the Quartet has championed throughout its existence. The JSQ has performed complete Beethoven cycles in seven-concert series at Alice Tully Hall in New York, at Casals Hall in Tokyo, at Michigan State University and, most recently, at the International Beethoven Festival in Bonn and at the Tonhalle in Dˆºsseldorf.

At Carnegie Hall, the Quartet appeared on Maurizio Pollini's "Perspectives" series with pianist Martha Argerich, and in the Hall's 100^th anniversary gala. Annual guests at Tanglewood's Seiji Ozawa Hall, the Juilliards played in the Hall's opening concert and are the lead-off artists in the recent recording celebrating its 10^th anniversary. They are frequent guests at the Miyazaki Festival in Japan and at festivals in Europe including the Lucerne Festival and the Schubertiade in Feldkirch. In a departure from the classical norm, the Juilliard Quartet has twice been the featured ensemble ’Äì comedic and musical ’Äì on Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion."

As Quartet-in-Residence at New York City's Juilliard School, the Juilliard String Quartet is widely admired for its seminal influence on aspiring string players around the world. The Quartet continues to play an important role in the formation of new American ensembles and was instrumental in the formation of the Alexander, American, Concord, Emerson, La Salle, New World, Mendelssohn, Tokyo, Brentano, Lark, St. Lawrence, Shanghai and Colorado string quartets.

In a momentous occasion at Tanglewood in 1997, the Juilliard String Quartet's founder and first violinist Robert Mann retired from the group after fifty years. Earlier that season, Musical America named the Quartet "Musicians of the Year," making it the first chamber music ensemble ever to appear on the cover of the publication's annual International Directory of the Performing Arts.

In its history, the Juilliard String Quartet has performed a comprehensive repertoire of some 500 works, ranging from the great classical composers to masters of the current century. It was the first ensemble to play all six Bartˆ„k quartets in the United States, and it was through the group's performances that the quartets of Arnold Schoenberg were rescued from obscurity. An ardent champion of contemporary American music, the Quartet has premiered more than 60 compositions of American composers, including works by some of America's finest jazz musicians.

The ensemble has been associated with Sony Classical, in its various incarnations, since 1949. In celebration of the Quartet's 50th anniversary, Sony released seven CDs containing previously unreleased material as well as notable performances from the Quartet's award-winning discography. With more than 100 releases to its credit, the ensemble is one of the most widely recorded string quartets of our time. Its recordings of the complete Beethoven quartets, the complete Schoenberg quartets, and the Debussy and Ravel string quartets have all received Grammy Awards. Inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences in 1986 for its recording of the complete Bartˆ„k string quartets, the Juilliard Quartet was awarded the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Prize in 1993 for Lifetime Achievement in the recording industry. In 1994, its recording of quartets by Ravel, Debussy, and Dutilleux was chosen by the Times of London as one of the 100 best classical CDs ever recorded.

Nick Eanet, Violin (Pronunciation: Eanet, rhymes with "senate")

Nick Eanet began his violin studies at the age of three with Nicole DiCecco, and was an avid chamber musician almost from the beginning, playing quartets by the age of five. When he was only eleven, his young quartet was invited to perform at a festival by Shinichi Suzuki in Matsumoto, Japan. At the age of twelve, he was admitted to The Juilliard School Pre-College where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, continuing at the college with Robert Mann. After graduating from Juilliard with a bachelor of music degree, Mr. Eanet joined the Mendelssohn String Quartet as leader and first violinist.

During his years with the Mendelssohn String Quartet, Mr. Eanet performed around the world in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Library of Congress. His teaching responsibilities included posts at Harvard University and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Numerous summer festival appearances include the Mostly Mozart Festival, Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Maui Chamber Music Festival, Steamboat Springs Strings in the Mountains Festival, among others. His playing, hailed by the New York Times as "brilliant and passionate," is in great demand: In addition to performing with the Sea Cliff Chamber Players and at Bargemusic, Mr. Eanet is a key member of Amadeus Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra that he also conducts. He has premiered and recorded the violin music of Frederich Nietzsche, available on the Newport Classic label.

Mr. Eanet's exposure to solo work also began when he was quite young. At age eight he was invited by Zubin Mehta to appear as soloist with the New York Philharmonic in one of the orchestra's Young People's Concerts. Two years later, he performed as soloist on the Philharmonic's subscription series and its New Year's Eve gala concert. Mr. Eanet has since performed as soloist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra led by James Levine at Carnegie Hall, the Minnesota Orchestra with Sir Neville Marriner, the New York Youth Symphony, and others.

From 1999 until he joined the Juilliard String Quartet, Mr. Eanet was the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a position appointed by James Levine. During his tenure with the orchestra, Mr. Eanet performed across Europe and Japan, and regularly appeared in orchestral and chamber music concerts at all three venues at Carnegie Hall. Nick Eanet is a native Brooklynite.

Ronald Copes, Violin

Praised by audiences and critics alike for his insightful artistry, violinist Ronald Copes has received international acclaim as concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Having appeared as a featured performer in the Marlboro, Tanglewood, Bermuda, Cheltenham, Colorado and Olympic music festivals, Mr. Copes has toured extensively with Music From Marlboro ensembles, the Los Angeles and Dunsmuir piano quartets, and, since 1997, with the Juilliard String Quartet in concerts throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

He has recorded numerous solo and chamber music works for radio and television broadcast as well as for Sony Classical, Orion, CRI, Klavier, New World Records, ECM and the Musical Heritage Society. Devoting considerable energy to the development and presentation of contemporary string literature, he has worked closely with composers and has given the first performances of a number of solo and chamber works.

Mr. Copes has garnered prizes in several national and international competitions including the Artists' Advisory Council, the Merriweather Post and the Concours International d'execution Musicale in Geneva. For two decades, he served as Professor of Violin at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and, in 1997, joined the faculty of The Juilliard School in New York City. During the summer he is on the artist-faculty of the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival.

Samuel Rhodes, Viola

Samuel Rhodes is celebrating his 41st year as a member of both the Juilliard String Quartet and the faculty of The Juilliard School where he is chair of the viola department. He has been a participant in the Marlboro Festival since 1960 and is a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center. His solo appearances have included several recitals at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and an unaccompanied recital at The Juilliard School. This celebratory season includes recitals in Hamburg, Germany, and at Juilliard. In June 2001, Mr. Rhodes was invited to play a recital in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the festival Viola Space in Tokyo, Japan. He gave the world premiere of Figment IV for solo viola by Elliott Carter in January 2008 in Paris. In 1998, Mr. Rhodes had the honor of being invited to join the late Isaac Stern as a coach at his Chamber Music Workshops in Jerusalem, Israel; Miyazaki, Japan and Carnegie Hall, New York.

A native New Yorker, Samuel Rhodes studied the viola with Sydney Beck and Walter Trampler. He has a bachelor of arts degree from Queens College, New York, and a master of fine arts degree from Princeton University where he studied composition with Roger Sessions and Earl Kim. As a composer, Mr. Rhodes wrote a string quintet for two violins, two violas and cello, which has been performed by the Blair, Composer's, Galimir, Pro Arte and Sequoia quartets. The Pro Arte Quartet recently recorded the work with the composer as guest artist.

Mr. Rhodes has been artist-in-residence at Michigan State University and has been awarded honorary doctorates by Michigan State, the University of Jacksonville and the San Francisco Conservatory. He has appeared as a guest artist with many ensembles including the Beaux Arts and Mannes trios and with the Brentano, Cleveland, Guarneri, and Mendelssohn quartets.

Joel Krosnick, Cello

Joel Krosnick has performed as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician around the world. As a member of the Juilliard String Quartet since 1974, he has performed the great quartet literature throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. With his sonata partner of more than 30 years, pianist Gilbert Kalish, Mr. Krosnick has performed recitals throughout the U. S. and Europe. Since 1976, they have given annual series of recitals in New York City and recently presented the series American Milestones of the Last 100 Years at The Juilliard School.

With Mr. Kalish, Mr. Krosnick has recorded the complete sonatas and variations of Beethoven and the sonatas of Brahms as well as works by Poulenc, Prokofiev, Carter, Hindemith, Debussy, Janacek, and Cowell for the Arabesque label. Especially noteworthy is their CD devoted to the cello and piano music of Ralph Shapey. Yet to be released is a CD, Forgotten Americans.

Mr. Krosnick completed his bachelor of arts degree at Columbia College where he began his lifelong commitment to contemporary music. He has performed and premiered a large number of new works by composers including Donald Martino, Ralph Shapey and Richard Wernick. Joel Krosnick's recording of the Sonata for Solo Cello by Artur Schnabel appears on the CP2 label, and his CD of Roger Sessions' Six Pieces for Solo Cello is presented on Koch Classics.

A dedicated and passionate teacher, Mr. Krosnick is chair of the cello department of The Juilliard School and is a member of the faculty of Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Maine. He has been associated with the Aspen, Marlboro and Tanglewood music festivals, and appeared for the third time as a member of the artist-faculty of the Piatigorsky Seminar at the University of Southern California. A recipient of the Chevalier du Violoncelle Award from the Eva Janzer Memorial Cello Center at the Indiana University School of Music, Mr. Krosnick holds honorary doctoral degrees from Michigan State University, Jacksonville University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.