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Our 2008--2009
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The Fine Arts String Quartet
Founded in Chicago by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin in 1946, the Fine Arts Quartet is one of the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive recording legacy. The members of the Quartet are artists-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Quartet members have been guest professors at the celebrated national music conservatories of Paris and Lyon, as well as at two of America's finest summer music schools, Yale University and Indiana University. Three of the Quartet's current artists have now been performing together for nearly 25 years. Documentaries on the Fine Arts Quartet have appeared on both French and American Public Television. Ralph Evans, violinist, prizewinner in the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, concertized as soloist throughout Europe and North America before joining the Fine Arts Quartet as first violinist. Evans attended Yale University, where he graduated cum laude (with a specialization in music, mathematics, and premed) and received his doctorate. While a Fulbright scholar in London, he studied with Szymon Goldberg and Nathan Milstein. He won the top prizes in the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, and the National Federation of Music Clubs National Young Artist Competition. His award winning composition "Nocturne" has been performed on American Public Television, and his String Quartet No. 1 has been recently premiered in the U.S., Germany, Israel, and France. Efim Boico, violinist, received his musical training in his native Russia. In 1967 he emigrated to Israel, where he was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Israel Philharmonic. In 1971, he joined the Tel Aviv Quartet as second violinist. In 1979, Mr. Boico was appointed concertmaster and soloist of the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim, positions he held until 1983, when he joined the Fine Arts Quartet. Mr. Boico has been guest professor at the Paris and Lyons Conservatories in France, and the Yehudi Menuhin School in Switzerland. He has received the Wisconsin Public Education Professional Service Award for distinguished music teaching, and the Arts Recognition and Talent Search Award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Yuri Gandelsman, former principal violist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was born in Russia in 1951. After studies in Moscow with Prof. Talalian, violist of the Komitas Quartet, and Prof. Berlinsky, cellist of the renowned Borodin Quartet, he was accepted into the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1980, he won the National Viola Competition, subsequently joining the Moscow Virtuosi as soloist and principal violist. Mr. Gandelsman has been guest professor at the Academia Santa Cecilia. He has also been guest conductor of orchestras in Russia, Hungary, Finland, Brazil, and Israel. Wolfgang Laufer, cellist, emigrated from his native Romania to Israel in 1961, and completed his musical studies at the Tel-Aviv Academy, subsequently serving as principal cellist and soloist with Israel Chamber Orchestra, Malmo Symphony Orchestra of Sweden, Hamburg Philharmonic, and State Opera of Germany. He has appeared as guest artist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Broadcasting Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Hanover Symphony Orchestra, Radio Orchestra of Hamburg, and Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and has toured Europe with the Wührer Chamber Orchestra and the United States with the Israel Chamber Orchestra. Since 1979, Mr. Laufer has been Professor of Cello at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. |
