The Emersons still have so much more to give
Album Of The WeekFrom the Lebrecht Album of the Week:
Prepare to shed a tear. After 47 years at the string quartet frontlines, the Emersons are breaking up this summer to spend the rest of their lives on their other passion — nurturing new quartets. Their two violinists — Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer — have been there since the quartet’s formation in America’s bicentennial year; the violist Lawrence Dutton joined in 1977. Only the cello seat has seen changes. Few groups, from the Buena Vista Social Club to the Rolling Stones, have ever maintained such consistency at such high performance over so many years…
More here.
And here.
I saw them in La Jolla this year. Awful. Had to leave at intermission. Love their recordings but they don’t have more to give, sorry.
While they will be missed, we heard their concerts at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Some serious intonation issues which persisted throughout the concerts.
They have nurtured the Escher Qt – an ensemble that could take their place as the best.