Since its formation in 1972, the Brodsky Quartet has given more than 3,500 concerts at the world’s leading venues and released more than 70 recordings. A natural curiosity and an insatiable desire to explore have driven the group in a number of artistic directions, ensuring not only a prominent presence on the international chamber music scene, but also a rich and varied musical life. Their energy and artistry have earned them countless awards and accolades worldwide, while their ongoing educational work provides a means of passing on their experience and remaining connected with the next generation.
The Brodsky Quartet recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and continues to maintain a busy international concert schedule. The quartet tours extensively throughout major festivals and venues in Australia, North and South America, Asia, South Africa and Europe, as well as across the United Kingdom, where the quartet is based. Over the years, the Brodsky Quartet has given numerous performances of complete quartet cycles by Schubert, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Schoenberg, Zemlinsky, Webern and Bartók. However, it is their complete Shostakovich cycle that has now become synonymous with their name. Their London performance of the complete string quartet cycle in 2012 resulted in the prestigious title of ‘Artistic Associate’ at London’s Kings Place — a residency that lasted ten years, culminating in a triumphant repeat performance of all fifteen works over two days. It therefore seems fitting that the legacy of their remarkable 50 years as a quartet should be the presentation of complete Shostakovich cycles around the world, bringing the full, immersive experience to audiences in the coming seasons.
The Brodsky Quartet has always enjoyed a busy recording career and for many years had an exclusive and fruitful relationship with Chandos Records. Releases on the label include a live recording of the complete Shostakovich cycle, as well as quartets and quintets by Brahms, Elgar, Janáček, Debussy and others, featuring a stellar line-up of fellow musicians. Their set of Beethoven’s late string quartets was released in 2020 to widespread critical acclaim, while one of their most recent releases, Hommage à Bach, includes the phenomenal world-premiere recordings of Bach’s three solo violin sonatas, arranged by Paul Cassidy. The Quartet marked its 50th anniversary with three different releases: the acclaimed Schubert Quintet with cellist Laura van der Heijden, Rocking Horse Road with long-time collaborator Jacqui Dankworth, and Golden Oldies, a compendium of encores arranged by the Quartet to celebrate this milestone.
The quartet regularly records for television and radio, and its performances are broadcast worldwide. The quartet has received numerous recording awards, including the Diapason d’Or and the CHOC du Monde de la Musique, as well as a Royal Philharmonic Society Award for its outstanding contribution to innovation in programming. In addition to collaborating with many leading classical artists in performances and recordings, the quartet has made musical history through groundbreaking collaborations with some of the world’s foremost artists across a wide range of genres. They have also commissioned and premiered works by many of the world’s most highly respected composers.
The quartet has taught at numerous international chamber music courses and held residencies at several musical institutions, including, early in their career, the first such post at the University of Cambridge, and later at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where they are International Fellows in Chamber Music. They have received honorary doctorates from the University of Kent and Teesside University, where they were formed.
The quartet takes its name from the great Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, dedicatee of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and a passionate chamber musician. Krysia Osostowicz plays a violin made by Francesco Gofriller, 1720; Ian Belton’s violin is by Giovanni Paolo Maggini, c.1615. Paul Cassidy plays the La Delfina viola, c.1720, courtesy of Sra. Delfina Entrecanales, and Jacqueline Thomas’s cello was made by Thomas Perry of Dublin in 1785.