The Rosé Quartet was a string quartet

String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

 formed by Arnold Rosé

Arnold Rosé

Arnold Josef Rosé was a Romanian-born Austrian Jewish violinist. He was leader of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for over half a century. He worked closely with Brahms. Gustav Mahler was his brother-in-law...

 in 1882.

It was active for 55 years, until 1938.

Members

Its members changed over time.

Rosé was first violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 throughout. Julius Egghard Jr. played the second violin at first; then it was Albert Bachrich, until 1905 when Paul Fischer

Paul Fischer

Paul Fischer was a German athlete and gymnast. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.In the 100 metres, Fischer did not finish his first round heat....

 joined. Violist

Violist

-Notable violists:A* Julia Rebekka Adler * Sir Hugh Allen , conductor* Kris Allen * Johann Andreas Amon * Paul Angerer , composer* Steven Ansell * Atar Arad * Cecil Aronowitz...

 was initially Anton Loh, then Hugo von Steiner until 1901 when Anton Ruzitska came on; after 1920, Max Handl played the viola. Eduard Rosé, Arnold’s brother, had been a founding member of the ensemble playing the cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, but left after one season to get married and was replaced by Reinhold Hummer, who was in turn replaced by Friedrich Buxbaum; cellist Anton Walter

Anton Walter

Anton Walter was a builder of pianos. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes him as "the most famous Viennese piano maker of his time".-Life:...

 joined in 1921, but later on Buxbaum rejoined.

The group's peak period was between 1905 and 1920, with Rosé, Fischer, Ruzitska, and Buxbaum.

Repertoire

The quartet's repertoire was based around the works of Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

, Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 and Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

, but many contemporary composers also benefited from the quartet's support, including Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...

.

Associations

The group participated in the Vienna premieres of works by Brahms

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...

, including his Clarinet Quintet

Clarinet Quintet (Brahms)

Johannes Brahms's Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 was written in 1891 for the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. It is widely regarded as Brahms's supreme achievement in chamber music.The piece is known for its autumnal mood...

 and his Quintet in G major Opus 111. It also premiered Schoenberg's first and second string quartets

String quartets (Schoenberg)

The Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg published four string quartets, distributed over his lifetime. These were the 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 , and the String Quartet No. 4, Op...

 and participated in the premiere of Verklärte Nacht

Verklärte Nacht

Verklärte Nacht , Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899 and his earliest important work...

 along with two members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....

: Franz Jelinek, viola, and Franz Schmidt

Franz Schmidt

Franz Schmidt was an Austrian composer, cellist and pianist of Hungarian descent and origin.- Life :Schmidt was born in Pozsony , in the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . His father was half Hungarian and his mother entirely Hungarian...

, violoncello.

Among the quartet's performing collaborators were Julius Röntgen

Julius Röntgen

Julius Engelbert Röntgen was a German-Dutch composer of classical music.-Life:Julius Röntgen was born in Leipzig, Germany, to a family of musicians. His father, Engelbert Röntgen, was first violinist in the Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig; his mother, Pauline Klengel, was a pianist, the aunt of...

, Johannes Brahms, Franz Steiner, Bruno Walter

Bruno Walter

Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...

, and Richard Mühlfeld

Richard Mühlfeld

Richard Mühlfeld was a German clarinettist who inspired Johannes Brahms and Gustav Jenner to write chamber works including the instrument...

.

The quartet also recorded

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

.

External links

• First Chapter of Alma Rose book containing information about the quartet