 RALPH EVANS, violinist, prizewinner in the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (video extract), concertized as soloist throughout Europe and North America before succeeding Leonard Sorkin as first violinist of the Fine Arts Quartet. Evans has recorded over 85 solo and chamber works to date. These include the two Bartók Sonatas for violin and piano, whose performance the New York Times enthusiastically recommended for its "searching insight and idiomatic flair," and three virtuoso violin pieces by Lukas Foss with the composer at the piano. Evans graduated cum laude from Yale University, where he also received a doctorate. While a Fulbright scholar in London, he studied with Szymon Goldberg and Nathan Milstein, and soon won the top prize in a number of major American competitions, including the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, and the National Federation of Music Clubs National Young Artist Competition. Evans has also received recognition for his work as a composer. His award winning composition "Nocturne" has been performed on American Public Television and his String Quartet No.1, recently released on the Naxos label, has been warmly greeted in the press ("rich and inventive" - Toronto Star; "whimsical and clever, engaging and amusing" - All Music Guide; "vigorous and tuneful" - Montreal Gazette; "seductive, modern sonorities" - France Ouest; "a small masterpiece" - Gli Amici della Musica).  EFIM BOICO, violinist, enjoys an international career that has included solo appearances under conductors Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Guilini, Claudio Abbado and Erich Leinsdorf, and performances with Daniel Barenboim, Radu Lupu and Pinchas Zuckerman. After receiving his musical training in his native Russia, he emigrated in 1967 to Israel, where he was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Israel Philharmonic - a position he held for eleven years. In 1971, he joined the Tel Aviv Quartet as second violinist, touring the world with guest artists such as André Previn and Vladimir Ashkenazy. In 1979, 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. Boico has been guest professor at the Paris and Lyons Conservatories in France, and the Yehudi Menuhin School in Switzerland. He is also a frequent juror representing the United States in the prestigious London, Evian, and Shostakovich Quartet Competitions. As music professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, he has received numerous awards, including 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.  NICOLÒ EUGELMI, violist, joined the Fine Arts Quartet in July, 2009. He is described by The Strad magazine as “a player of rare perception, with a keen ear for timbres and a vivid imagination.” As soloist, recitalist, and member of chamber ensembles, he has performed around the world, collaborating most notably with conductors Mario Bernardi, Jean-Claude Casadesus, and Charles Dutoit. Eugelmi completed his musical training at the University of British Columbia and the Juilliard School. In 1999, he was appointed Associate Principal Violist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and in 2005, he became Principal Violist of the Canadian Opera Company. Eugelmi’s recording, Brahms: Sonatas and Songs, was named a "Strad Selection" by The Strad, and his recording, Brahms Lieder, a collaboration with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, was named "Editor’s Choice" by Gramophone. He has recorded regularly for the CBC and Radio-Canada. His mentor, Gerald Stanick, was a member of the Fine Arts Quartet from 1963 to 1968.  ROBERT COHEN, cellist, made his concerto debut at the age of twelve at the Royal Festival Hall London and throughout his distinguished international career, he has been hailed as one of the foremost cellists of our time. “It is easy to hear what the fuss is about, he plays like a God” (New York Stereo Review). “Cohen can hold an audience in the palm of his hand" (The Guardian). Invited to perform concertos world-wide by conductors Claudio Abbado, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, and Sir Simon Rattle, Cohen has also collaborated in chamber music with many eminent artists such as Yehudi Menuhin and the Amadeus String Quartet, with whom he recorded the Schubert Cello Quintet on Deutsche Grammophon. At age nineteen, Cohen recorded the Elgar Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the EMI label, and since then, he has recorded much of the cello repertoire for Sony, Decca, DGG, EMI, and BIS. Cohen, who studied with the legendary artists William Pleeth, Jacqueline du Pré, and Mstislav Rostropovich, is an inspirational teacher who has given masterclasses all over the world. He is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, and is director of the Charleston Manor Festival in the south of England. He joined the Fine Arts Quartet in January 2012.FINE ARTS QUARTET MEMBERSHIP HISTORY 1st Violin: Ralph Evans (1982-current), Leonard Sorkin (1946-1982) 2nd Violin: Efim Boico (1983-current), Larry Shapiro (1979-1983), Abram Loft (1954-1979), Joseph Stepansky (1946-1954) Viola: Nicolò Eugelmi (2009-current), Chauncey Patterson (2008-2009), Yuri Gandelsman (2001-2008), Michael Strauss (2000-2001), Jerry Horner (1980-2000), Bernard Zaslav (1968-1980), Gerald Stanick (1963-1968), Irving Ilmer (1952-1963), Sheppard Lehnhoff (1946-1952) Cello: Robert Cohen (2012-current), Wolfgang Laufer (1979-2011), George Sopkin (1946-1979) |