Alexander String Quartet

Since its establishment in New York during 1981, the Alexander String Quartet has sustained an expansive roster of works and an extensive discography that stretches from two highly regarded Beethoven quartet traversals through present-day compositions, while also sponsoring more than thirty commissions. Multiple European tours have solidified the ensemble’s standing outside the United States.

The group’s personnel has remained constant since its inception: Zakarias Grafilo and Frederick Lifsitz on violin, Paul Yarbrough on viola, and Sandy Wilson on cello. During the 1980s the quartet captured several decisive competition triumphs, beginning with victory at the first Concert Artists Guild Competition in 1982, followed in 1985 by success at both the London International String Quartet Competition and the Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition—now known as the Wigmore Hall London International String Quartet Competition—where it became the first American ensemble awarded the jury prize. In 1989 the quartet was named Ensemble-in-Residence for the “San Francisco Performances” series; thereafter it has been headquartered in San Francisco and has exerted a substantial influence on the region’s chamber-music life while also directing the Morrison Chamber Music Center at San Francisco State University. Appearances at major American institutions have included the Library of Congress in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, while international engagements have reached most European nations as well as the Philippines and have featured collaborations with distinguished musicians such as Menahem Pressler and pianist Marc-André Hamelin. Within the United States the quartet has actively championed new music, commissioning works from composers including Augusta Read Thomas, Jake Heggie, and Cindy Cox.

Its recording legacy, long centered on the Pro Arte label, has further enhanced the quartet’s worldwide stature. A widely praised Beethoven cycle appeared on Pro Arte in the late 1990s, and the ensemble revisited the Beethoven quartets in 2010 for Foghorn Classics. Acclaim has likewise greeted its cycles of the Bartók and Shostakovich quartets, along with numerous recordings of the contemporary scores it has commissioned. In 2019 the Alexander String Quartet joined pianist Joyce Yang for a Foghorn Classics release containing Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81, and String Quartet in F major, Op. 96 (“American”).