String Quartets of Mendelssohn

This CD includes the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13; the String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44/1; and the Fugue in E flat for String Quartet, Op. 81/4

    The Pro Arte Quartet continues to maintain an almost 100-year tradition of dedication to classical and contemporary string chamber music. Founded in 1912 by violinist Alphonse Onnou, the Pro Arte Quartet became the court quartet to Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. Its world reputation blossomed in 1919 when the Quartet began the first of many tours and earned such acclaim that composers, notably Milhaud, Honegger and Bartok, gave the ensemble new works to introduce. By 1926, the Quartet made its debut in New York and toured American cities. They returned for 30 tours to the United States, often under the auspices of Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, noted patron of chamber music, visiting Madison for the first time in 1938.
    Two years later, the musicians were stranded in the United States 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. As ensemble in residence, the Pro Arte today functions as a resource for both the university and the state, where duties range from formal concerts and radio broadcasts to a variety of educational activities. The quartet also tours nationally and internationally, often premiering new works written for them.