The Composers Quartet

The Composers String Quartet was a string quartet best known for performances of new works by contemporary composers,^[1] including quartets by Elliott Carter^[2] and Ruth Crawford Seeger.^[3] Carter's Fourth Quartet was dedicated to the Composers Quartet, who premiered the work in 1986.^[4] The group has performed quartets by more than 60 American composers, and has toured abroad extensively.^[5]

The quartet was founded in 1965,^[6] and remained active until the late 1990s. During the early 1970s it was the quartet-in-residence at New England Conservatory, where it sponsored a biennial composition prize.^[7] In 1975, the group became the quartet-in-residence at Columbia University, remaining at Columbia for at least two decades.^[8]

Members

• Matthew Raimondi (d. 2024), violin
• Anahid Ajemian, violin
• Bernard Zaslav, viola (succeeded by Jean Dupouy, Jean Dane, and Ron Carbone; the quartet also recorded with violist Maureen Gallagher)
• Seymour Barab, cello (succeeded by Michael Rudiakov, Michael Haber and Mark Shuman)