The Same Colleagues...For 45 Years

Arnold Steinhardt, John Dalley, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley (replacing original cellist David Soyer) are in the midst of their final concert season as the Guarneri Quartet.  Janice Steinberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune writes about their journey as a quartet in advance of their upcoming performance for the La Jolla Music Society.  Steinhardt on the delicate art of quartet-playing:

“Playing string quartets requires the technique and personality of a virtuoso and the fine-tuned skills of a watchmaker.” On top of that, it takes sophisticated social skills – “that balance of getting along with people but still retaining your sense of yourself.”

You can find another fascinating (albeit fictional) account of the quartet life in Vikram Seth's An Equal Music.