Arabella Quartet

The Arabella Quartet, also identified as the Arabella String Quartet, came into existence at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, although none of its members is American. Italian violist Ettore Causa remains on the faculty of the Yale School of Music, and Australian violinist Sarita Kwok likewise taught there before becoming chair of the music department at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Violinist Julie Eskar serves as first concertmaster of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra and helped found the Eskar Trio, while French cellist Alexandre Lecarme belongs to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Declaring their goal to "carry on the pedigree of great European traditions and masters -- the Paris Conservatoire, the University for Music and the Performing Arts Vienna, and the Menuhin Academy -- as well as the influence of celebrated American ensembles, such as the Guarneri, Tokyo, and Juilliard quartets," the multinational ensemble formed without a name in 2011 and adopted its present designation only after a reviewer pressed the point.

Signed to Naxos, the quartet issued its debut album, In the Moment: Short Pieces for String Quartet, in 2017, featuring short works and excerpts by Turina, Webern, Mendelssohn, and others. Subsequent engagements have included major U.S. chamber music series such as Mistral Music and the Temple Emanuel Chamber Music Series in the Boston area, together with the Cosmos Club and Kenwood Chamber Society Series in Washington. The group returned to Naxos in 2022 with a second release devoted to quartets by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.