The Brodsky Quartet

The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the “Cleveland Quartet”, and subsequently named for Russian violinist Adolph Brodsky. Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members, though Paul Cassidy remains a long-standing member, joining in 1982.

In addition to performing and recording classical music, and in particular the string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók, Zemlinsky, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel and Shostakovich, they have collaborated with such rock and pop figures as Björk, Elvis Costello, Sting, Katie Noonan and Paul McCartney. With Elvis Costello they co-wrote the Juliet Letters, released and toured in 1993. They perform the “Strings” on Björk’s Family Tree box set. This material mostly comes from concerts Björk and the Brodsky gave at London’s Union Chapel in December 1999.

The Quartet has commissioned many contemporary composers including Errolynn Wallen, Isidora Zebeljan, Elena Virsova, Andrea Tarodi, Theo Verbey, Javier Alvarez, John Tavener, Andrew Ford, Julian Nott and George Grundmann, and championed new work from composers such as Mario Lavista, Osvaldo Golijov and Peter Sculthorpe.

The quartet has performed standing up since 1992. Jacqueline Thomas sits on a podium, bringing her to the same head height as her colleagues, but sometimes also stands, using a small stool under her left foot, so that the instrument can rest against her bent knee.

In May 1998 the Brodsky Quartet was presented with a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for an outstanding contribution to innovation in programming. In 1999 they received Honorary Fellowship at Teesside University and in 2004 they were awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Kent.

As well as their performance and recording work, the Brodsky Quartet was Quartet in Residence at Cambridge University in the 1980s, International Chair of Chamber Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland from 2007 and holds visiting residencies at many establishments worldwide. For fourteen years they taught and performed at the Dartington International Summer School.The Brodsky Quartet are also known for their arranging of non-quartet repertoire for use as concert encores. These have been compiled into various recordings, including Brodsky Unlimited, Petits Fours and Golden Oldies. They have worked in music theatre productions including Complicité’s The Noise of Time, Brian Friel’s Performances (with Rosamund Pike and Henry Goodman) and Bill Barclay’s Letters to a Young Poet.

The Brodsky Quartet has an extensive discography of over seventy recordings, having been signed by IMP, ASV, Teldec, Challenge, Vanguard, Warner, Autor, Brodsky Records, SOMM, Kim, Silva Classics, Orchid, CPO, Hybrid and latterly Chandos. They left Chandos in 2023, deciding to end their recording career, following three releases to mark their 50th anniversary; Rocking Horse Road with Jacqui Dankworth, Schubert’s Cello Quintet with Laura Van Der Heijden and Golden Oldies, a compilation of their encore arrangements. They have collaborated with singers and instrumentalists worldwide, including Sir Willard White, Natasha Kudritskaya, Michael Collins, Joan-Enric Lluna, Leon Bosch, Laura van den Heijden, Natalie Clein, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Martin Roscoe, Tunde Jegede, John Harle, Craig Ogden, Martin Fröst, Nobuko Imai, Ryota Komatsu, Eddie Perfect and David Hansen.

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