Biography
William Schuman, then president of New York’s Juilliard School, established the Juilliard String Quartet in 1946. Its first members included violinists Robert Mann and Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer, and cellist Arthur Winograd. Although the lineup evolved across the years, the ensemble maintained its position among the world’s most celebrated and esteemed string quartets after more than five decades of concerts and recordings.
The quartet originated from a commitment to dedicated performances of new music and a renewed engagement with the traditional quartet canon. In 1947 Schuman submitted a proposal to the Juilliard board for a resident ensemble that would, in his words, “embrace the entire repertoire of music,” with the sole requirement that its name remain fixed irrespective of personnel. Early concerts drew immediate acclaim, as reviewers praised the players’ vigorous, energetic style and the commanding force of every appearance. Later notices continued to highlight the group’s intensity while also noting its “homogeneity” and “secure” sound, qualities often attributed to its extended and distinguished record.
The quartet earned recognition for treating twentieth-century scores and earlier masterworks with equal seriousness, presenting works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and Brahms alongside those of Bartók, Berg, Schoenberg, and Shostakovich. It became especially identified with the complete Beethoven string-quartet cycle and gained further distinction as a leading advocate for contemporary American music by introducing, on average, at least one new piece annually. Its American repertoire encompasses compositions by Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland, Roger Sessions, and Milton Babbitt.
The ensemble serves as quartet-in-residence at Juilliard, at the Library of Congress since 1962, and at Michigan State University since 1977. Beyond performance, its members act as advocates for modern music and as faculty at Juilliard, where they have mentored numerous ensembles including the Emerson, Tokyo, La Salle, and Lark quartets. The group has appeared throughout the world and became the first American string quartet to tour the Soviet Union, doing so in 1961.
Its recorded catalog contains the complete Beethoven quartets, the Mendelssohn quartets, and quartets by Haydn, Verdi, Schubert, and Sibelius, together with the Mozart and Brahms quintets. Additional recordings feature music by Schoenberg, Webern, Beach, Barber, Carter, Smetana, Gould, Franck, and many other modern composers. For these releases the quartet has received four Grammy awards, a German Record Critics lifetime achievement award, Musical America’s Musician of the Year honor in 1996, and induction into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
The quartet originated from a commitment to dedicated performances of new music and a renewed engagement with the traditional quartet canon. In 1947 Schuman submitted a proposal to the Juilliard board for a resident ensemble that would, in his words, “embrace the entire repertoire of music,” with the sole requirement that its name remain fixed irrespective of personnel. Early concerts drew immediate acclaim, as reviewers praised the players’ vigorous, energetic style and the commanding force of every appearance. Later notices continued to highlight the group’s intensity while also noting its “homogeneity” and “secure” sound, qualities often attributed to its extended and distinguished record.
The quartet earned recognition for treating twentieth-century scores and earlier masterworks with equal seriousness, presenting works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and Brahms alongside those of Bartók, Berg, Schoenberg, and Shostakovich. It became especially identified with the complete Beethoven string-quartet cycle and gained further distinction as a leading advocate for contemporary American music by introducing, on average, at least one new piece annually. Its American repertoire encompasses compositions by Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland, Roger Sessions, and Milton Babbitt.
The ensemble serves as quartet-in-residence at Juilliard, at the Library of Congress since 1962, and at Michigan State University since 1977. Beyond performance, its members act as advocates for modern music and as faculty at Juilliard, where they have mentored numerous ensembles including the Emerson, Tokyo, La Salle, and Lark quartets. The group has appeared throughout the world and became the first American string quartet to tour the Soviet Union, doing so in 1961.
Its recorded catalog contains the complete Beethoven quartets, the Mendelssohn quartets, and quartets by Haydn, Verdi, Schubert, and Sibelius, together with the Mozart and Brahms quintets. Additional recordings feature music by Schoenberg, Webern, Beach, Barber, Carter, Smetana, Gould, Franck, and many other modern composers. For these releases the quartet has received four Grammy awards, a German Record Critics lifetime achievement award, Musical America’s Musician of the Year honor in 1996, and induction into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Albums

Arnold Schoenberg
2023

Anton Webern & Alban Berg
2023

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7
2021

Beethoven - Bartók - Dvorák: String Quartets
2021

Strings
2020

Juilliard String Quartet - The Beethoven Quartets 1964 - 1970
2020

Beethoven: The Late Quartets, Opp. 127, 130, 131, 132, 133 (Grosse Fuge) & 135
2020

Beethoven: The Middle Quartets, Op. 59 Nos. 1 - 3; Op. 74 & Op. 95
2020

Beethoven: The Early Quartets, Op. 18, Nos. 1 - 6
2020

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59 No. 2 "Rasumovsky" & String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18 No. 2
2019

Mozart: String Quartet No. 14 in G Major, K. 387 "Spring" & String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 "Dissonant"E
2019

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132
2019

Haydn: String Quartet No. 57 in C Major, Op. 74 No. 1, Hob. III:72 & String Quartet in G Major, Op. 77 No. 1, Hob. III:81 "Lobkowitz"
2019

Juilliard String Quartet - Beethoven Quartet In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131
2018

Beethoven - Davidovsky - Bartók
2018

Beethoven: 3 String Quartets, Op. 59 "Rasumovsky" & String Quartet No. 10, Op. 74
2018

Schubert: Quartet No. 13, D. 804 & Quartet No. 9, D. 173
2018

Haydn: Three Quartets, Op. 54
2018

Mendelssohn: String Quartet, Op. 13 & String Quartet, Op. 44, No. 1
2018

Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, Op. 161
2018

Lees: String Quartet No. 1 - Denny: String Quartet No. 2
2018

Hindemith: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 16 - String Quartet No. 5, Op. 32
2017

Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10, L. 85 - Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M. 35
2016

Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D. 810 "Death and the Maiden" & No. 12 in C Minor, D. 703 "Quartettsatz"
2016

Berg: Lyric Suite - Webern: 5 Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5 & 6 Bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9
2016

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 "Serioso" & String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135
2016

Carter: String Quartet No. 2 - Schuman: String Quartet No. 3
2016

Dvorák: String Quartet No. 11 in C Major, Op. 61 - Wolf: Italian Serenade
2016

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131
2016

Mozart: Quartet Collection
2014

30 Classical Music Tracks to Make You Smarter
2014

Juilliard String Quartet: Mozart String Quartets
2014

Carter: The Five String Quartets
2014

Mozart: The Last String Quartets
2013

The Juilliard Quartet plays Mozart - The Complete "Haydn" Quartets and String Quintets
2011

Miniatures for Strings
2010

Ives: String Quartets Nos. 1 "From the Salvation Army" & 2
2010

Juilliard String Quartet: Great Collaborations
2009

Beethoven: The Early String Quartets, Nos. 1-6
2009

Beethoven: The Middle String Quartets
2009

Donald Martino & Fred Lerdahl: String Quartets
2007

Jewish String Quartets
2006

Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 3, 14, 15 & Piano Quintet
2006

String Quartets with Soprano
2006

Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 13 & 16
2006

Franck & Smetana: String Quartets
2004

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Piano Quintet
2003

Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets
2002

Bartók: Complete String Quartets
2002

Brahms: String Quintets
2001

Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
2001

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2 & Piano Quintet in G Minor
1999

Bartok: The 6 String Quartets
1997

Smetana & Franck: String Quartets
1997

Janácek: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 - Berg: Lyric Suite
1996

Greatest Hits - Romance
1995

Brahms: String Quartets 1-3 & Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115
1995

Juilliard String Quartet
1995

Debussy, Ravel & Dutilleux: String Quartets
1993

Verdi & Sibelius: String Quartets
1992

Bach: The Art of the Fugue
1992

Mozart: The Haydn Quartets
1990

Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ, Hob. XX:2
1990

Webern: Complete Works, Op. 1 - Op. 31
1990

Sessions, Wolpe & Babbitt: Quartets
1990

Schoenberg: String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3
1989

Chausson: Concert for Violin, Piano & String Quartet in D Major, Op. 21
1984

Beethoven: The Late String Quartets
1983

Schoenberg: The Five String Quartets
1977

Virgil Thomson: Quartet No. 2 - William Schuman: Voyage
1955

Mozart: String Quartets Nos. 20 & 21
1954

Kirchner: Sting Quartet No. 1 - Fine: String Quartet (1952)
1954

Mennin: String Quartet No. 2 - Imbrie: String Quartet in B-Flat Major
1954

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 4 - Webern: 5 Movements for String Quartet - Berg: String Quartet, Op. 3
1953

Schumann: String Quartet No. 4 - Dahl: Concerto for Clarinet, Violin & Cello "Concerto a Tre"
1953

Copland: Sextet for String Quartet, Clarinet and Piano - Kohs: Chamber Concerto
1953

Berg: Lyric Suite - Ravel: String Quartet in F Major
1950

Bartók: Quartet No. 1 in A Minor & Quartet No. 2 in A Minor
1950

Bartók: Quartet No. 5 & Quartet No. 6
1950

Bartók: Quartet No. 3 & Quartet No. 4
1950

Milhaud: Cantate de l'enfant et de la mère & La muse ménagère
1950

Williams Bergsma: Third String Quartet No. 1 - Lukas Foss: String Quartet No. 1
1950
Singles
Live

Schoenberg: String Quartet NO.1 in D Minor OP. 7 - String Quartet NO. 2 in F Sharp Minor OP. 10 - String Quartet NO. 3, OP. 30 - String Quartet NO. 4, OP. 37 - Webern: Five Movements for String Quartet, OP. 5 - Berg: String Quartet, OP. 3 (Live)
2021

Bartók: String Quartet NO. 1 in a Minore - String Quartet NO. 2 - String Quartet NO. 3 - String Quartet NO. 4 - String Quartet NO. 5 - String Quartet NO. 6 (Live)
2021

Mozart, Dvořák & Bartók: String Quartets (Live)
2018

Juilliard Quartet, Vol. 1: Live at Library of Congress with Claudio Arrau
2017

Juilliard Quartet, Vol. 2: Live at Library of Congress – Mozart Quintets
2017

Juilliard Quartet, Vol. 5: Live at Library of Congress – Schumann with Bernstein
2017

Juilliard Quartet, Vol. 3: Live at Library of Congress – Brahms Sextets
2017

Juilliard Quartet, Vol. 6: Live at Library of Congress – Clarinet Quintets
2017

Juilliard Quartet, Vol. 4: Live at Library of Congress – Mozart Quartets
2017


