The Muir String Quartet
In its 35th season, the Muir String Quartet has long been acknowledged as
one of the world's most powerful and insightful ensembles, distinguishing
itself among audiences and critics with its "exhilarating involvement" (Boston Globe),"impeccable voicing and intonation" (San Francisco Examiner) and "<
em style="POSITION: relative">unbridled musicality" (American Record G
uide).
Winner of the 1981 Naumburg Chamber Music Award and 1
980 Evian International String Quartet Competition, the Muir String Quartet
first appeared on the scene in 1980, and was greeted with rave reviews and
an extensive feature in the New Yorker. The quartet was also featured on t
he internationally acclaimed PBS broadcast,
In Performance at the White House for President and Mrs. Reagan. Forme
d in 1979 following graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music, the Muir
String Quartet's principal chamber music teachers were Felix Galimir and m
embers of the Guarneri and Budapest Quartets.
Some of the aw
ards Muir has garnered include a Grammy (Beethoven Quartets Op. 132 and Gro
sse Fuge/EcoClassics), a Grammy nomination (Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quin
tets/EcoClassics with Mitchell Lurie), two Grand Prix du Disques, and the G
ramophone Award. In its commitment to advancing contemporary American music
, the Muir Quartet has had commissioned works written for them by such dist
inguished composers as Joan Tower (Night Fie
lds), Sheila Silver (From Darkness Emer
ging), Richard Danielpour (Shadow Dance
s and Psalms of Sorrow - featured
on CBS Sunday Morning), Richard Wilson (Third String Quartet), and Charles
Fussell (Being Music - based on poetry of Walt Whitmen). The quartet also g
ave the World Premiere performance of the Native American collaborative wor
k, Circle of Faith, featured on National Public Radio. Other premiered work
s include those by esteemed American composers Richard Danielpour (Feast of Fools - for bassoon and string quartet
), Lucas Foss (String Quartet #4), Ezra
Laderman (String Quartets #9 and #10), Joelle Wallach (String Quartet #3), and Ronald Perera's first Quartet. In 201
3-2014, the Quartet continues its series at Boston University, Rhode Island
College and with the Montana Chamber Music Society
with a retrospective of works from old and new Vienna, and other perfo
rmances around North America. 2011-2012 highlights included a tour of China
, with concerts and master classes in Beijing, Xian, Shenyang and Shanghai.
The Muir's recording of the Kreisler, Berg Op. 3 and Schulhoff 5 Pieces wa
s released on the KidsClassics label during 2013.
The Muir Q
uartet has been in residence at Boston University's C
ollege of Fine Arts since 1983, and gives annual summer workshops at th
e Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI). The Muir Quartet has also
given master classes at schools worldwide, including the Eastman School of
Music, the Curtis Institute, Oberlin Conservatory, the Shepherd School of M
usic at Rice University, and conservatories in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian,
China. Since 1989, the quartet has presented the Emerging Quartets and Com
posers Program in Utah with eminent composer Joan Tower. This program is no
w part of the Muir’s role as resident chamber ensemble with theDeer V
alley Festival, in partnership with the Utah Symphony/Opera.