Emerson String Quartet
Emerson String Quartet is set to open the Princeton University Concerts’ Concert Classics Series in October.
Although the quartet has performed in Princeton many times, this concert will be the first time Princeton audiences can hear the Emerson with newest member, cellist Paul Watkins, who replaced David Finckel in May 2013.
The complete program features Haydn’s Quartet in G Major; Op. 33, No. 5, Beethoven’s Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 “Serioso;” Ravel’s Quartet in F Major.
The Emerson String Quartet stands apart in the history of string quartets with an unparalleled list of achievements over three decades: more than 30 recordings, nine Grammys, three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize and Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year.”
With the arrival of cellist Paul Watkins in May of 2013, the first personnel change for the quartet in 34 years, the Emerson Quartet embarks on a remarkable new journey.
Formed in 1976 and based in New York City, the Emerson was one of the first quartets formed with two violinists alternating in the first chair position. In 2002, the Quartet began to stand for most of its concerts, with the cellist seated on a riser. The Emerson Quartet took its name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and is Quartet-in-Residence at Stony Brook University.
The performance is scheduled for 8 p.m. Oct. 2 at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. Professor Scott Burnham is set to give a pre-concert talk, free to ticketholders, at 7 p.m.
Ticket prices range from $45 to $20 for general public and $10 to $5 for students.
More information is online at princetonuniversityconcerts.org.
