Ардитти квартеті: Қазіргі заманғы классикалық музыканың шебері

The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a 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. They have on occasion performed minimalist pieces such as "[Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (soundtrack)|Mishima]]" by Philip Glass and the 1st quartet of Gavin Bryars which was written for them. Also works involving electronics are in their repertoire. York Holler's Antiphon, Kaija Saariaho's Nymphea and Roger Reynolds Ariadne's Thread. [7] In their first concert they played new compositions only, but by their second year, they decided that their repertoire needed to include works of the Second Viennese School and Bartók came soon after. Works from earlier in the 20th century as perspective followed and in the 1980s they incorporated Beethoven's Grosse Fuge. They have played Ligeti's Second Quartet and Xenakis 'Tetras' hundreds of times.

The Quartet has a worldwide reputation as a leader for its interpretation of 20th century and contemporary new music, receiving extensive critical praise. Awards include the Deutsche Shallplatten Preis on various occasions, the Gramophone Award for best recording of contemporary music in 1999, 2002 and 2018, the Coup de Coeur Prize and Grand Prix from the Academie Charles Cros in 2004 and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize for lifetime achievement in 1999. They are the first and only group to date to receive the Siemen Foundation prize. by far the longest contemporary discography of any string quartet. A complete archive of the quartet's work is located at the Sacher Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. Most of their performances are in concert halls and festivals within Europe, but they are known all over the world and have performed extensively in the US, Canada, Korea, South America, Japan and Mexico. One special piece which Arditti himself arranged the commission involved not playing in a concert hall. This was Stockhausen's Helicopter quartet, which required each member to perform his part in his own helicopter, and be relayed to the ground electronically where the audience was listening in a concert hall.

Members of the group regularly conduct master classes in Europe, the United States and Canada, for performers and composers, generally in a guest capacity. From 1982 to 1996, they worked with young composers at the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music. They also encourage younger quartets interested in new music. In 2013, they collaborated with the composer Brian Ferneyhough on a documentary called Climbing a Mountain which is about how the group prepares for the presentation of new pieces. It was created particularly for composers and music students to help them understand the rehearsal process.