Juilliard String Quartet

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title: "Juilliard String Quartet" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["musical-groups-established-in-1946", "american-string-quartets", "grammy-lifetime-achievement-award-winners", "juilliard-school-faculty"] description: "String quartet at the Juilliard School in New York" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juilliard_String_Quartet" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary String quartet at the Juilliard School in New York ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Juilliard String Quartet
image	Juilliard String Quartet 2018.jpg
caption	The Juilliard String Quartet in 2018
image_size	250px
background	classical_ensemble
alias	The Juilliard Quartet
origin	New York City, United States
instrument	2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello
genre	Classical
occupation	String quartet
years_active	1946–present
label	Sony Classical (formerly Columbia Records and CBS Masterworks)
website
current_members	Areta Zhulla
Leonard Fu
Molly Carr
Astrid Schween
past_members	see below
::

| name = Juilliard String Quartet | image = Juilliard String Quartet 2018.jpg | caption = The Juilliard String Quartet in 2018 | image_size = 250px | background = classical_ensemble | alias = The Juilliard Quartet | origin = New York City, United States | instrument = 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello | genre = Classical | occupation = String quartet | years_active = 1946–present | label = Sony Classical (formerly Columbia Records and CBS Masterworks) | website = | current_members = Areta Zhulla Leonard Fu Molly Carr Astrid Schween | past_members = see below

The Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman and Robert Mann. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. It has received numerous awards, including four Grammys and membership in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. In February 2011, the group received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award for its outstanding contributions to recorded classical music.

As of 2025, the quartet's members are violinists Areta Zhulla and Leonard Fu, violist Molly Carr, and cellist Astrid Schween.

History

First era: 1946–1996

The quartet was founded by Juilliard School president William Schuman and violin faculty member Robert Mann in 1946. The original members were Mann and violinist Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer and cellist Arthur Winograd. It began recording with Columbia Records upon its founding. Between March and August 1949, the quartet became the first group to record Béla Bartók's complete string quartets. Columbia released the recordings in 1950. Around the time of its public and recording debuts, the Juilliard Quartet quickly established itself as a premier American ensemble on the international level.

In 1953, the group was the first to record Arnold Schoenberg's complete quartets. In 1955, Claus Adam replaced Winograd as the group's cellist. In 1958, Isidore Cohen replaced Koff as second violinist.

In 1962, the Juilliard String Quartet replaced the Budapest String Quartet as the Library of Congress's quartet in residence. That year, the quartet performed at the Library with a set of Stradivarius instruments Gertrude Clarke Whittall donated in the 1930s. In 1966, Earl Carlyss replaced Cohen as second violinist and three years later, Samuel Rhodes replaced Hillyer as violist.

In 1974, Joel Krosnick replaced his teacher Adam as the cellist. By 1981, the Juilliard Quartet was said to have performed in over 3,000 concerts in 43 different countries. In 1986, Joel Smirnoff replaced Carlyss as second violinist.

In 1996, Mann announced his intention to retire. He played his last concert as a member of the quartet at the Tanglewood Music Festival that year. Smirnoff took over as first violinist and Ronald Copes joined the group as second violinist.

21st century: 1997–present

In 2005, the quartet performed in Madrid for Queen Sofía of Spain on the set of Stradivarius Palatinos instruments owned by the Royal Palace of Madrid. In 2009, Nick Eanet replaced Smirnoff as first violinist. He left the group in 2010 for health reasons and was replaced by Joseph Lin of the Formosa Quartet.

In 2013, Roger Tapping replaced Rhodes as violist. In 2015, the quartet released an app for Apple's iOS called "Juilliard String Quartet – An Exploration of Schubert's Death and the Maiden". Ulysses Arts issued the recording separately. The London-based app developer Touchpress and the Juilliard School co-produced the app, which features the quartet in a performance of Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ("Death and the Maiden"). In 2016, Astrid Schween replaced Krosnick as cellist, becoming the quartet's first female member. Areta Zhulla then replaced Lin as first violinist. After Tapping's death in 2022, Molly Carr became the quartet's new violist.

Repertoire

The quartet plays a wide range of classical music, and has recorded works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bartók, Debussy and Shostakovich, among others, while also promoting more contemporary composers such as Elliott Carter, Ralph Shapey, Henri Dutilleux and Milton Babbitt. It has performed with other noted musicians, such as Aaron Copland, Glenn Gould, Benita Valente and also (in its early days) the scientist Albert Einstein. It can be heard on the soundtrack of the movie Immortal Beloved. By the early 1990s, the quartet was said to have produced more than 100 recordings and performed over 500 unique works.

Members

First violin

• 1946 Robert Mann
• 1997 Joel Smirnoff
• 2009 Nick Eanet
• 2011 Joseph Lin
• 2018 Areta Zhulla

Second violin

• 1946
• 1958 Isidore Cohen
• 1966 Earl Carlyss
• 1986 Joel Smirnoff
• 1997 Ronald Copes
• 2025 Leonard Fu

Viola

• 1946 Raphael Hillyer
• 1969
• 2013 Roger Tapping
• 2022 Molly Carr

Violoncello

• 1946 Arthur Winograd
• 1955 Claus Adam
• 1974 Joel Krosnick
• 2016 Astrid Schween

Teaching

Members of the Juilliard Quartet are also private teachers and chamber coaches at the Juilliard School and at music festivals worldwide. Musicians who have studied with the quartet have gone on to become members of the Tokyo, Emerson, Shanghai, LaSalle, Concord, Alexander, New World, Brentano, Lark, and the Ulysses string quartets among others.

Awards

[[Grammy Awards]]

::data[format=table]

Year	Recipient	Award	Result	Ref
1961	Debussy and Ravel Quartets	Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Vocal or Instrumental - Chamber Music
1962	Berg: Lyric Suite; Webern: 5 Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 5; 6 Bagatelles, Op. 6	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1964	Beethoven: Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95; String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135	Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music
1965	Beethoven: Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance - Instrumental
1966	Bartók: The Six String Quartets	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance - Instrumental or Vocal
1968	Ives: Quartets Nos. 1 and 3	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1972	Debussy: Quartet in G Minor/Ravel: Quartet in F	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1975	Beethoven: The Late Quartets	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1978	Schoenberg: Quartets for Strings (Complete)	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1980	Webern: The Complete Works of Anton Webern, Vol. 1	Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
1981	Schubert: Quartet No. 15 in G Major, Op. 161	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1984	Bartók: The String Quartets (6)	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1985	Beethoven: The Late String Quartets	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1986	Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
1991	Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music or Other Small Ensemble Performance
1992	Carter: The Four String Quartets; Duo for Violin and Piano	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
Carter: The Four String Quartets; Duo for Violin and Piano	Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
1995	Debussy/Ravel/Dutilleux: Quartets	Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
2011	—	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
::

References

References

1. Oestreich, James R.. (1997-10-29). "Juilliard Quartet's Musical Chairs". [[New York Times]].
2. Mermelstein, David. (2021-09-13). "'Juilliard String Quartet: The Early Columbia Recordings, 1949-56' Review: A Long-Awaited Encore". [[Wall Street Journal]].
3. Stewart, Laura. (2007-01-28). "Juilliard Quartet: Breadth and depth: [Final Edition]". [[The Daytona Beach News-Journal]].
4. Rothstein, Edward. (1981-10-09). "JUILLIARD QUARTET MARKS 35TH YEAR OF SHARING". [[New York Times]].
5. Hoffman, Eva. (1986-10-05). "JUILLARD: A RENEWED QUARTET". [[New York Times]].
6. Kozinn, Allan. (1996-12-11). "Quartet Losing Its Leader of Five Decades: Juilliard Quartet Is Losing Robert Mann, Its Leader of Five Decades". [[New York Times]].
7. Dyer, Richard. (1996-12-20). "Mann retires from Juilliard Quartet". [[Boston Globe]].
8. Wakin, Daniel J.. (2008-10-18). "Juilliard Quartet Names New Violinist". [[New York Times]].
9. Wakin, Daniel J.. (2010-06-30). "Juilliard Quartet Violinist Steps Down; Health Cited". [[New York Times]].
10. (2018-02-22). "Areta Zhulla to Become First Violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet Beginning September 2018; Joseph Lin to Step Down at the End of the 2017-18 Season and Remain on the Juilliard Faculty".
11. (2015-05-18). "After 42 Years, Juilliard String Quartet Cellist To Step Down". [[National Public Radio]].
12. (2018-02-22). "Juilliard String Quartet gets new first violin". [[The Strad]].
13. "Juilliard String Quartet Names Violist Molly Carr to Succeed Roger Tapping".
14. Rothstein, Edward. (1991-10-14). "Review/Music; Elliott Carter Quartets Celebrate Juilliard's 45th". [[New York Times]].
15. {{imdb title. 0110116. Immortal Beloved
16. Scher, Valerie. (1995-11-30). "Juilliard quartet long an inspiration". [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]].
17. Kozinn, Allan. (1983-01-09). "How the Juilliard Quartet Shares Its Artistry: The Juilliard". [[New York Times]].
18. Hay, Bryan. (1998-02-20). "SURVIVAL CONCERNS PLUCK AT HEARTSTRINGS OF JUILLIARD QUARTET". [[The Morning Call]].
19. May, Thomas. (2021). "Forever Young". [[Strings Magazine]].
20. "Grammy Awards 1961". AwardsandShows.
21. "Grammy Awards 1962". AwardsandShows.
22. "Grammy Awards 1964". AwardsandShows.
23. "Grammy Awards 1965". AwardsandShows.
24. "Grammy Awards 1966". AwardsandShows.
25. "Grammy Awards 1968". AwardsandShows.
26. "Grammy Awards 1972". AwardsandShows.
27. "Grammy Awards 1978". AwardsandShows.
28. "Grammy Awards 1980". AwardsandShows.
29. "Grammy Awards 1981". AwardsandShows.
30. "Grammy Awards 1984". AwardsandShows.
31. "Grammy Awards 1985". AwardsandShows.
32. "Grammy Awards 1986". AwardsandShows.
33. "Annual Grammy Nominations". UPI.
34. (1992-01-08). "And the nominees are..". [[United Press International]].
35. (January 6, 1995). "The 37th Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times.
36. (2010-12-22). "The Recording Academy Announces Special Merit Award Honorees". [[Grammy Awards]].

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