Квартет «Эолиан»: История и Записи

String quartet based in London
The Aeolian Quartet was a highly reputed string quartet based in London, England, with a long international touring history and presence, an important recording and broadcasting profile. It was the successor of the pre World War II Stratton Quartet. The quartet adopted its new name in 1944 and disbanded in 1981.

Between 1966 and 1973 the Quartet toured Canada, the United States, Mexico and Australia. By 1973 they had completed 33 concerts in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including a performance of Haydn quartets at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Their schedule also included Amsterdam and Brussels, and the Far East. In 1973–74 they were making tours of Spain, the Middle East and Belgium, with other recitals in Italy and Portugal. There were important appearances at the Edinburgh Festival in 1970 and 1972. In 1977 they planned to tour Australia and New Zealand with Kenneth Essex (viola), with whom they recorded Mozart's viola quintets. They held an international summer school in northern Italy, and established a similar course for chamber music players at the 1976 York Festival. The Quartet broke new ground with a televised performance of all Beethoven's late quartets for the BBC Two television channel, broadcast on five consecutive nights in March 1975, and afterwards repeated in other countries.

The Quartet in its earlier manifestation, with Humphreys, Keenlyside, Forbes and Simpson, sometimes appears on vinyl under a 'Revolution Records' label (a form of the Delta Records label, made and distributed by RCA, not to be confused with the 1996 label of that name), as for instance in a recording of the Elgar piano quintet with Leonard Cassini, Revolution LP RCB.8. Since the Aeolian Quartet's predecessor, the Stratton Quartet, had made the 1933 recording of the Elgar quintet, this Aeolian version (through the continuity in the group of Watson Forbes) has the authority of a tradition going back to the composer. A pre 1953 recording of Mozart's String Quartet No. 21, K. 575, and No. 23, K. 590, has been released on Allegro ALG 3036 and Allegro/Royale 1516, naming Alfred Cave, Leonard Dight, Watson Forbes and John Moore. The Quartet made many recordings, but is especially noted for the complete Haydn cycle. This included the dubious Op. 3 series, and an account of The Seven Last Words of Christ with poetic readings by Peter Pears (the Hurwitz–Keenlyside–Major–Simpson version, replacing a well known Humphreys–Keenlyside–Forbes–Simpson version of the same work). In the Schubert C major quintet, D. 956 (c.1966), their collaborator is cellist Bruno Schrecker. In recordings of the quartet (composed 1951–52) and clarinet quintet (1968) by Robert Simpson, the clarinettist is Bernard Walton. In 1949, the quartet (with Cave as leader) recorded Nikolai Medtner's piano quintet, with the composer at the piano. This was the first recording of the work, made as part of a projected cycle of Medtner performing his own works, funded by his friend and admirer, the Maharaja of Mysore.