Pro Arte Quartet plays Franck: String Quartet in D Major (Rec. May 1933)
11.09.2009, 01:54
Pro Arte String Quartet was founded in Belgium in 1912, and transferred permanently to
Madison, Wisconsin (USA) in 1941. After becoming the Court Quartet to Queen
Elizabeth of Belgium, the Pro Arte began the first of many international tours
in 1919. Bartok, Milhaud and Honegger entrusted the ensemble new works to
premiere. The Pro Arte Quartet made its American debut in 1926 in New York and
returned for 30 tours to the United States, often under the auspices of the
noted patron of chamber music, Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Their first
visit to Madison was in 1938. Two years later, the musicians were stranded in
Madison by the outbreak of World War II and accepted a residency at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, the first such residency in a major American
university. The Pro Arte became the faculty string quartet of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison in the late 1950s, an appointment that continues till this
day.
The original personnel of the Pro Arte Quartet
were:
1st violin: Alphonse Onnou
2nd violin: Laurent Halleux
viola: Germain Prévost
violoncello: Robert Maas
The current (2007) personnel are:
1st violin: David Perry
2nd violin: Suzanne Beia
viola: Sally Chisholm
violoncello: Parry Karp
Many famous instrumentalists have played and
coached with the Pro Arte Quartet over the years.
The Quartet was founded by Alphonse Onnou, its
leader, in Brussels in 1912. After the First World War it became famous for the
performance of modern music, and also for its extensive recordings of Haydn.
The Quartet made its New York debut in 1926 and performed at the inauguration
of the Hall of Music at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. In 1932 they
were named the 'Quatuor de la Cour de Belgique'. They frequently toured in the
United States, and first performed at Madison, Wisconsin in 1938.
While touring in Wisconsin in 1941 they were
offered a permanent residency. In 1944, following the disbanding of the Kolisch
Quartet in the USA, Rudolf Kolisch took up leadership of the Pro Arte in 1944,
combined with a Wisconsin Professorship. In 1947, violist Germain Prevost, the
last of the original members, resigned. In the late 1950s, the Pro Arte Quartet
became members of the University's School of Music faculty in addition to being
artists-in-residence.
