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Jerusalem Quartet

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PRESS ACCLAIM

“Passion, precision, warmth, a gold blend: these are the trademarks of this excellent Israeli string quartet. The finesse of phrasing in [Mozart's] K458’s minuet; the exquisite tone of the ensemble’s cello (formerly played by the great Jacqueline du Pré); and the slow movements that reach ever deeper into Mozart’s heart.”

-The Times, London

”Superlatives are inadequate in describing just how fine this playing was from one of the young, yet great quartets of our time.”

-The Strad

"The Jerusalem Quartet's debut on the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society series was breathtaking. Or jaw-dropping. Or maybe ear opening. In any case, it was brilliant."

-Pittsburgh Post Gazette

”The best-trained string players with Alexander Pavlovsky, who had a particularly colourful sound, correspond with each other with instinctive sureness.It was magical playing, which also caressed the soul and made this a very pleasant evening concert.”

-Der Tagespiegel  

REPERTOIRE

2025-26 PROGRAMS

Fall Tour: October 18-31, 2025

Program 1: Jerusalem Quartet “Jubilee Program”

 Haydn:  Quartet in Bb-Major, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”)

Janacek:  Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”)

Beethoven:  Quartet in Bb-Major, Op. 130 (with Grosse Fugue finale, Op. 133)

 

NOTE:  the above program was their Wigmore Hall debut 25 years ago.

 

Program 2:

Mozart:  Quartet in C-Major, KV 465 (“Dissonance”)

Prokoviev:  Quartet No. 1 in B-minor, Op. 50

Brahms:  Quartet in C-minor, Op. 51, No. 1

Spring tour:  April 19 – May 2, 2026

Program 3:

Haydn:  Quartet in Bb-Major, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”)

Shulamit Ran:  New Work, composed for Jerusalem Quartet

Beethoven:  Quartet in Bb-Major, Op. 130
(with Grosse Fugue finale, Op. 133)


Program 4 “Winds of Change”:

Janacek:  Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”)

Bartok:  Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67

Ravel:  Quartet in F-Major

April 2024

BIOGRAPHY

Alexander Pavlovsky, 1st violin
Sergei Bresler, 2nd violin
Ori Kam, viola
Kyril Zlotnikov, cello

“Passion, precision, warmth, a gold blend: these are the trademarks of this excellent Israeli string quartet.” 

 

Such was the Times’ (London) impression of the Jerusalem Quartet. Since the ensemble's founding in 1993 and subsequent 1995 debut, the four Israeli musicians have embarked on a journey of growth and maturation. Their breadth of repertoire and stunning depth of expression have firmly established their unique place in the string quartet tradition. The ensemble has found its core in a warm, full, human sound and an egalitarian balance between high and low voices. This approach allows the quartet to maintain a healthy relationship between individual expression and a transparent and respectful presentation of the composer's work. It is also the drive and motivation for their continuing refinement of its interpretations of the classical repertoire as well as exploration of new epochs.

 

The Jerusalem Quartet is a regular and beloved guest on the world’s great concert stages. The 2024/25 season will mark the Quartet’s 30th anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, the Quartet will put a spotlight on the cycle of Shostakovich’s 15 quartets, which they will present in 10 cities worldwide including St. Paul, Cleveland, and Portland, Ore., London, Zurich, Amsterdam, Cologne, and Sao Paulo. Additional highlights this season include performances in Houston, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Iowa City, Cincinnati, and Monterrey, Mexico, among other North American cities, and a return to the Konzerthaus in Berlin; the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and London’s Wigmore Hall.

 

The Jerusalem Quartet’s numerous recordings have garnered many awards and accolades including the Diapason d'Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award for chamber music. After releasing 16 albums for the Harmonia Mundi label starting in 2005, the quartet now records exclusively for the BIS label. The quartet’s inaugural release for BIS, in December 2024, will include Shostakovich quartets Nos. 2, 7, and 10. Previous releases for Harmonia Mundi include a unique album exploring Jewish music in Central Europe between the wars including a collection of Yiddish Cabaret songs from Warsaw in the 1920s, featuring Israeli Soprano Hila Baggio. In 2020, the Jerusalem Quartet released the second (and last) album of their complete Bartók cycle.

 

 

2024-25 season

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