“The Emerson String Quartet, a renowned chamber ensemble known for its lively, nuanced playing, announced on Thursday that it would disband in 2023, after nearly a half-century,” writes Javier C. Hernández in last Thursday’s (8/26) New York Times. “The quartet’s members said they had decided it was time to move on so they could focus on teaching and solo work. ‘It’s not in any way that we’re tired of playing the music or being with each other,” Philip Setzer, 70, a violinist and a founding member of the quartet, said…. The quartet … began as a student group at the Juilliard School before turning professional in 1976…. Its members have made more than 30 recordings together and have won nine Grammy Awards. In addition to Setzer, the ensemble includes Eugene Drucker, 69, a violinist who is another founding member; the violist Lawrence Dutton, 67, joined in 1977, and the cellist Paul Watkins, 51, in 2013…. In the upcoming season, its penultimate, the quartet is scheduled to perform … at Carnegie Hall in January and at the Kennedy Center in Washington in February. The group will also embark on a six-city tour of Europe.”
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