A string quartet with the longevity of the Juilliard Quartet is a bit like the Ship of Theseus. With the passage of time, all the components are replaced. Can it, then, still be considered the same ship?

Certainly, the ensemble continues to play at a very high, international level. The quartet was founded in 1946 by William Schuman, newly instated as president of the Juilliard School, and violinist Robert Mann, recently returned from wartime service in the U.S. Army. In its original incarnation, Mann was joined by violinist Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer, and cellist Arthur Winograd. Mann continued to hold his position until 1996.

In 1974, Joel Krosnick joined the Juilliard faculty, and in turn the ensemble, replacing his teacher, cellist Claus Adam (who had replaced Winograd). Krosnick played with the group until 2016. From 1994, he served as chair of the Juilliard cello department.

Krosnick came from a musical home. As a teen, he had already played through most of the chamber music repertoire with his family. As a student at Columbia University, he developed a lifelong enthusiasm for newer works. He was a founding member of The Group for Contemporary Music. From 1962 to 1971, the group was based at Columbia. Later, it took up residency at Manhattan School for Music.

For over 20 years, Krosnick appeared as a recital partner with the pianist Gilbert Kalish. As you can imagine, with all this concertizing with different combinations of musicians, his repertoire was vast.

From its inception, the Juilliard Quartet recorded for Columbia Records, setting down landmark interpretations of, among others, the Bartók and Schoenberg quartets. In all, the ensemble has made over 100 recordings and performed with many notable musicians, including Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Glenn Gould, Leon Fleisher, Benita Valente, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and the scientist Albert Einstein.

Krosnick died yesterday at the age of 84. With Areta Zhulla, Ronald Copes, Molly Carr, and Astrid Schween as the quartet’s current personnel, Theseus’ ship sails on.

Beethoven

Shostakovich

Prokofiev, Poulenc & Carter

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