Biography:
The ARDITTI QUARTET enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide for his lively and differentiated interpretation of compositions of the present and the 20th century. Since the quartet was founded in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti, many hundreds of string quartets have been composed for the ensemble. Many of these works have become an integral part of the contemporary music repertoire and give the Arditti Quartet a permanent place in music history. The breadth of his repertoire is evidenced by world premieres of composers such as Adès, Andriessen, Aperghis, Birtwistle, Britten, Cage, Carter, Denisov, Dillon, Dufourt, Dusapin, Fedele, Ferneyhough, Francesconi, Gubaidulina, Guerrero, Harvey, Hosokawa, Kagel, Kurtág and Lachenmann , Ligeti, Maderna, Manoury, Nancarrow, Reynolds, Rihm, Scelsi, Sciarrino, Stockhausen or Xenakis. The ensemble firmly believes that close collaboration with composers is essential to the interpretation of modern music and strives to work with every composer whose work it performs. The four musicians are also involved worldwide as educators in master classes for young performers and composers.
The Arditti Quartet's discography comprises over 200 CDs. 42 CDs alone were produced with the French label Naïve Montaigne. The recordings include a series of portraits of contemporary composers, which were always made in their presence, as well as the first digital recording of all string quartets of the Second Viennese School. The quartet produced CDs with more than 20 other labels: works by Berio, Cage, Nono, Rihm and Lachenmann, the complete recording of the chamber music for strings by Xenakis and the notorious Helicopter Quartet from Stockhausen. All in all, her discography is the most comprehensive for string quartet literature of the last 40 years. Recent releases on the Aeon label include portraits of Harvey, Dusapin, Birtwistle, Gerhard and Ferneyhough's complete string quartets and string trios.
The Arditti Quartet has received numerous awards over the past 30 years, including the German Record Critics' Award on several occasions. It received the Gramophone Award for Best Recording of Contemporary Music in 1999 (Elliott Carter) and 2002 (Sir Harrison Birtwistle). In 2004 it received the "Coup de Coeur" from the Académie Charles Cros for its contribution to the dissemination of contemporary music. In 1999 he was awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for his »lifetime musical work«. To this day it is the only ensemble to ever receive this award. The complete archive of the Arditti Quartet is in the Sacher Foundation in Basel.
Information package for press and sales
(ZIP archive, 387 kB)
Albums:
A Shadow Play / String Quartet No. 4 & no. 7:
Live @ Megève Festival Savoy Truffle:
Donaueschingen Music Days 2016:
Darmstadt Aural Documents Box 3 Ensembles:
Donaueschingen Music Days 2010:
Donaueschingen Music Days 2006 Vol. 1:
