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Longtime quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas, the
Miró Quartet has an international reputation matched by few other American chamber ensembles. The quartet often commissions new works but also plays mainstream repertory enthusiastically and has returned repeatedly to the music of
Beethoven.
The
Miró Quartet was formed in 1995 when its members were all students at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. It had various members in its early years, but its lineup soon stabilized with Daniel Ching on first violin, William Fedkenheuer (who had formerly played with the
Borromeo and
Fry Street quartets) on second violin,
John Largess on viola, and Joshua Gindele on cello. The
Miró Quartet name came from that of artist Joan Miró: Gindele explained to coregami.com that "Miró was known for his surrealist, imaginative work, but we were actually more inspired by his conception of creating art...when it comes to making your own art and music, it’s about forgetting the past and creating your own personal voice; there has to be a soulful, unique quality." In the late 1990s, the group entered various competitions and took home first prizes at each one, including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 2000.
In 2003, the
Miró Quartet became quartet-in-residence at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas, but its growth did not stop there. In 2005, the group won the Cleveland Quartet Award and the Avery Fisher Career Grant. These honors brought the quartet bookings well beyond Texas, and the
Miró Quartet has mounted tours of North America, Europe, and Asia. In North America, freed from academic obligations during the summer, the quartet has been especially visible at festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, and a favorite of the group, the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in Washington state. The quartet has appeared at Carnegie Hall with the
New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
The
Miró Quartet has made several well-regarded recordings for such labels as Longhorn Music, PentaTone Classics, and their own Miró Quartet Media. The group's recording of George Crumb's Black Angels won a Diapason d'Or award in France in 2004. The following year, the quartet released a set of Beethoven's early quartets (Nos. 1-6), and in late 2019, the
Miró Quartet issued a
complete cycle of the Beethoven quartets in observance of the composer's 250th birthday.