After 44 years together, from studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music to teaching at Yale to performing all around the globe, the much lauded ensemble has decided to go out on a high note.
To wit, watch Martin Beaver, Kikuei Ikeda, Kazuhide Isomura and Clive Greensmith serenade Boston's WGBH with quartets from Haydn, Bartok and Ravel.
Back in the Fall of 2011, Isomura (viola, since 1969) and Ikeda (second violinist, '74) decided to retire once the 2013 season was over. Beaver and Greensmith had been auditioning for another violist and second violin, but after a lot of thought, both first violin and cello decided it was best to not solider on.
Beaver writes on the Tokyo String Quartet's official blog: "It is a difficult prospect to replace one long-standing quartet member. To replace two of them simultaneously is a Herculean task. With the retirement of our colleagues in our minds, we increasingly felt over the last few months that the most fitting way we could honor and celebrate our quartet's long and illustrious career was to bring it to a graceful close."
Four cheers for 44 years, then, of the Tokyo String Quartet!
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