Escher String Quartet

The Escher String Quartet maintains its headquarters in New York, where it has established itself as a prominent chamber ensemble whose early trajectory matched the expectations set by its prominent supporters. Taking its name from visual artist M.C. Escher, the group has stated that its approach draws from “Escher’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole.”

The ensemble came together in New York during 2005. Its current roster comprises violinists Adam Barnett-Hart and Brendan Speltz, violist Pierre Lapointe, and cellist Brook Speltz. Early advocacy from the Emerson String Quartet led to festival engagements and residencies arranged by Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman. Subsequent partnerships have encompassed both classical performers and jazz figures such as vocalist Kurt Elling and saxophonist Joshua Redman. Receipt of the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2013 supplied additional momentum. Domestic appearances have included engagements at Chamber Music San Francisco, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the festivals at Ravinia and Music@Menlo. European visibility expanded through concerts at the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Auditorium du Louvre, and similarly distinguished halls.

Following several Naxos releases that included a two-disc survey of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s complete string quartets, the quartet joined the BIS roster—one of the few American groups on that label—and issued a cycle of Mendelssohn string quartets in 2015. A 2018 BIS album presented quartets by Dvořák, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky. In 2019 the ensemble collaborated with guitarist Jason Vieaux on the Azica recording Dance. A BIS disc of the Barber and Ives quartets appeared in 2021. That same year the group held quartet-in-residence positions at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and at the Tuesday Musical chamber series in Akron, Ohio. Committed to training the next generation of chamber musicians, its members have conducted master classes at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the Campos do Jordão Music Festival in Brazil.