Emerson String Quartet with guest artists Calidore String Quartet

Charles S. Robinson Memorial Concert

In 1976, four students at The Juilliard School discovered a shared interest in string quartet repertoire and decided to start making music together. Nearly four decades later, the Emerson Quartet has made unparalleled contributions to the genre, amassing thirty recordings, nine Grammys, and a rare induction into the Classical Music Hall of Fame. They graced our stage last season with an unforgettable program, energized by the lineup’s new addition of cellist Paul Watkins (formerly of the The Nash Ensemble of London). And now, it is a pleasure to invite them back to kick off our 2015-16 season. The evening will culminate with the youthful, exuberant, and beloved Octet in E-flat Major by Felix Mendelssohn, written just a few months after the composer’s sixteenth birthday— no better way to herald opening night! Joining the Emersons onstage for the Octet will be their current protégés, the quickly rising Calidore String Quartet, lauded as “four highly intelligent, deeply sensitive virtuosos.” (Strings Magazine) It will be an intergenerational meeting of the minds, and we can’t wait to see what will happen.