Amadeus Quartet

History

The Amadeus Quartet was a string ensemble active from 1947 to 1987, with its four founding members remaining together for its entire existence. Its three violinists—Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel, and Peter Schidlof—were Jewish musicians forced to flee Vienna after the 1938 Anschluss. Brainin and Schidlof first met in a British internment camp at Prees Heath, later moving to the Isle of Man; like many Jewish refugees, they were detained as enemy aliens after arriving in the UK.

Brainin was released after a few months, while Schidlof stayed and met Nissel. Once freed, the three studied without charge under violinist Max Rostal. Through Rostal, they met cellist Martin Lovett, and in 1947 they formed the Brainin Quartet, renamed the Amadeus Quartet the following year. Their debut as the Amadeus Quartet took place on 10 January 1948 at London’s Wigmore Hall, funded by composer Imogen Holst.

A 35th-anniversary concert was held at the same venue on 25 January 1983, featuring Beethoven’s String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3. The quartet toured widely across Europe, Canada, the United States, Japan, and South America. They recorded around 200 works, including the complete quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart. For quintets and sextets, they regularly brought in violist Cecil Aronowitz and cellist William Pleeth.

While focusing on Classical and Romantic repertoire, they also played music by 20th-century figures like Béla Bartók and Benjamin Britten, who composed his final string quartet for them; they premiered it after his death. The quartet disbanded in 1987 when violist Schidlof died of a heart attack at age 65, honoring their original pact that no member would be replaced. Brainin died in 2005, Nissel in 2008, and Lovett in 2020.

Awards

The Amadeus Quartet's members were awarded numerous honors, including the Order of the British Empire, presented by the Queen; doctorates from the Universities of London, York, and Caracas; the highest of all German awards, the Great Cross of Merit; the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art; and the Grand Prix du Disque. The quartet disbanded in 1987 upon the death of violist Peter Schidlof. When the quartet was founded in 1947, the four members decided that if one of the musicians either left the quartet or died, he would not be replaced and the quartet would disband. Forty years later, true to their word, the quartet disbanded upon Schidlof's death (of a heart attack, at 65). Brainin died on 10 April 2005, Nissel on 21 May 2008, and Lovett on 29 April 2020.