Escher String Quartet

The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its individual sound, inspired artistic decisions and unique cohesiveness. Championed by members of the Emerson String Quartet, the group were proud to be BBC New Generation Artists for 2010-2012. Having completed a three-year residency as artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “CMS Two” programme, the ensemble has already performed at prestigious venues and festivals around the world including Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y and Symphony Space in New York, Kennedy Center, the Louvre, Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals, Music@Menlo, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, the City of London Festival and a tour of China including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Within months of its inception in 2005, the Escher String Quartet was invited by both Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman to be the quartet-in-residence at each artist's summer festival: The Young Artists Programme at Canada’s National Arts Centre and The Perlman Chamber Music Program on Shelter Island, NY. The Eschers have since collaborated with artists such as Andrés Diaz, Lawrence Dutton, Kurt Elling, David Finckel, Leon Fleisher, Vadim Gluzman, Benjamin Grosvenor, Wu Han, Gary Hoffman, Joseph Kalichstein, David Shifrin, Joseph Silverstein, and Pinchas Zukerman. In August 2012 the Quartet gave their BBC Proms debut, performing Hugh Wood’s 4th String Quartet. In 2012-2013 the Quartet will complete their final BBC New Generation Artists recording project in London, as well as returning to the Wigmore Hall following their successful debut there in February 2012. They will continue their relationship with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, curating and performing a series of concerts celebrating the 100th anniversary of Britten’s birth. Their tours in Europe include a date with the prestigious Agence de concerts et spectacles Cecilia in Geneva, their Austrian debut in Eisenstadt, and concerts at several UK festivals including Paxton and Gregynog. 2012-2013 releases include the complete Zemlinsky Quartets on Naxos; the Escher String Quartet will also record the complete Mendelssohn Quartets for release by BIS. Their previous recordings include ‘Stony Brook Soundings’ Vol. 1 (Bridge Records), which features the quartet in the premiere recordings of five new works. Other recordings include the Amy Beach Piano Quintet with Anne-Marie McDermott for the CMS Studio Recordings label. The Escher String Quartet takes its name from Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher and draws inspiration from the artist’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.