Quartet loses its founder but keeps his name
NewsThe violinist Oliver Heath has left the Heath Quartet that he founded 20 years ago.
He is to be replaced as leader by Marije Johnston of the Navarra Quartet.
The other three in the quartet are Sara Wolstenholme (violin), Gary Pomeroy (viola) and Christopher Murray (cello). It will continue to be known as the Heath Quartet.
Keeping the original name has a long tradition, even when it’s tied to specifics that no longer apply. The Budapest remained the Budapest long after the original Hungarians had morphed into Russians; the Takacs remains the Takacs long after Gabor Takacs-Nagy had to set his violin down.
I remember when J. Geils left the J. Geils band, but they kept the name and toured. He had trademarked the name “J. Geils Band” without telling his bandmates so he sued. Bizet said, ‘Ah, music. What a beautiful art. But what a wretched profession’.
I hope this breakup is more amicable than that.
Otherwise they’d have to toss their inventory of “Heath Quartet” concert T-Shirts.