Virtuoso Quartet

The Virtuoso String Quartet was a British quartet, founded by the Gramophone Company (better known as HMV) in 1924 [1] to be the first such quartet established specifically for recording.[2] In effect they displaced the Catterall Quartet from their position recording for HMV.[3]

Marjorie Hayward led them for the 15 years of their life.[4] Raymond Jeremy and Cedric Sharpe previously performed in the Philharmonic Quartet.

Personnel

Concerts

1926/10: The first Bradford Festival of Chamber Music.[5] Brahms sextet op36;[6] Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht

1926/12/11: St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Debussy quartet G minor; Mozart quartet in E flat (K.v. 428) [7]

1927/6: John B. McEwen: two quartets

1927/10: Second Bradford Festival

1927/9/28, 1927/10/12&26: Aeolian Hall, London

1927: Wigmore Hall, London. Bax: Quartet 2, Oboe quintet, Piano quintet [8]

1928/3/13, Town Hall, Chelsea: Chelsea Music Club 36th concert [9]

1928/10/23: Town Hall, Oxford: Ravel [10]

1928/11/22: Town Hall, Oxford

1930/3/26 Wigmore Hall: Bax [11]

1930 As part of the Celtic Congress, University College concert hall, London; concert included work by John McCormack, the Welsh soprano Megan Foster, and the cellist, Beatrice Harrison [12]

Acoustic recordings (4 sets; all premiere recordings)

Beethoven: no 8, E minor (Op. 59/2): late 1924

Tchaikovsky Quartet 1 in D, Op. 11: 1923

Franck: String Quartet in D: Premiere recording (1925) [13]

Bridge Three Idylls: 1923.[14]

Electrical recordings (6 sets and some singles)

Ravel: quartet; Introduction and Allegro with John Cockerill, harpist.

Borodin: Nocturne

Debussy: Quartet G minor

Beethoven: No.9 in C Op.59/3

Beethoven: No.6 in Bb Op.18/6.

Glazounov: Orientale: 1928

Thomas: Mignon Gavotte 1928; HMV B 2784 [15]

Press Notices

"From the London station [BBC] we have had many good things during the past month, the pick being the Virtuoso Quartet in Mozart and Debussy…" [16]

"Good as these Budapest party records are [Haydn op76/1, HMV D1075-7], they are beaten all round by those of the Virtuoso Quartet in Debussy's G minor… For vividness and sonority this is surely among the finest achievements of the [Gramophone] Company".[17]

"… distinguished themselves as virile performers of Beethoven… put up so excellent a show [in Ravel]" [18]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Ibbs and Tillett: the rise and fall of a musical empire By Christopher Fifield; Ashgate, 2005
  6. ↑ http://google.com/search?q=cache:RWCUlYo7jH8J:mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/drucken/MarjorieHayward.rtf+%22virtuoso+string+quartet%22+concert+programmes&cd=25&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=safari
  7. ↑ http://www.nzetc.org/tei-source/JCB-013.xml
  8. ↑ Programme: Arnold Bax Recital, Oct 20, 1927
  9. ↑ http://www.concertprogrammes.org.uk/html/search/verb/GetRecord/4191
  10. ↑ http://www.concertprogrammes.org.uk/html/search/verb/GetRecord/5110
  11. ↑ http://www.concertprogrammes.org.uk/html/search/verb/GetRecord/4181
  12. ↑ http://www.celtic-congress.org/cc-hist-kiernan.html
  13. ↑ http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.classical.recordings/browse_thread/thread/737b1f691b7fb8b9/a539cc76967f7746?lnk=gst&q=virtuoso+string+quartet#a539cc76967f7746
  14. ↑ http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.classical.recordings/browse_thread/thread/5872f1cbefb98ee8/ab16f7a23a618a3a?lnk=gst&q=virtuoso+string+quartet#ab16f7a23a618a3a
  15. ↑ Musical Times, Dec 1, 1928, p1091
  16. ↑ Musical Times Oct 1 1925 p919
  17. ↑ Musical Times May 1, 1926, p431
  18. ↑ Musical Times, Dec 1, 1931, p1100
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