Arditti Quartet

The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. They first became known taking into their repertoire technically challenging pieces. Over the years, there have been personnel changes but Irvine Arditti is still at the helm, leading the group. The repertoire of the group is mostly music from the last 50 years with a strong emphasis on living composers. Their aim from the beginning has been to collaborate with composers during the rehearsal process. However, unlike some other groups, it is loyal to music of a classical vein and avoids cross-genre music. The Quartet has performed in major concert halls and cultural festivals all over the world and has the longest discography of any group of its type. In 1999, it won the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for lifetime achievement, being the first and only group to date to receive this award.

The Arditti Quartet is dedicated to 20th century and contemporary works, a niche in chamber music where classical masters dominate. While they only play a handful of works from before the 20th century, they require that their repertoire maintains the tradition that has been established in Europe for several centuries. They do not work with composers from fields such as jazz, pop or crossover. They concentrate on those from the last fifty years, along with very new music, mostly repertoire specially written for the ensemble to premiere.

The quartet is considered the authentic interpreters for many late 20th century composers, with a reputation for mastering the most difficult and complex compositions. They rarely improvise as their focus is on working with composers. These composers range from those active in the early 20th century to the present and include Hans Abrahamsen, Thomas Adès,[3] Luciano Berio, John Cage[6][9], Elliott Carter, Franco Donatoni, Pascal Dusapin, Henri Dutilleux, Brian Ferneyhough, Morton Feldman, Georg Friedrich Haas, György Kurtag, Helmut Lachenmann, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Wolfgang Rihm, Giacinto Scelsi, [10] and Iannis Xenakis.

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