Quartetto Italiano
| Company type | String quartet |
|---|---|
| Industry | Classical music performance |
| Founded | 1945 in Reggio Emilia, Italy |
| Headquarters | Reggio Emilia , Italy |
Area served | International |
| Products | Classical music recordings and performances |
The Quartetto Italiano () was a string quartet established in Reggio Emilia in 1945. They gave their first performance that same year in Carpi, with all members being in their early twenties. Originally called Nuovo Quartetto Italiano to differentiate themselves from an earlier ensemble led by Remigio Prìncipe, they removed "Nuovo" from their name in 1951. The quartet gained fame for their comprehensive cycle of Beethoven string quartets recorded between 1967 and 1975, before disbanding in 1980.
Guido Alberto Borciani, sibling of the founder and first violinist Paolo Borciani, acted as the quartet’s secretary and archivist. A mechanical engineer who also played piano, he founded the Premio Paolo Borciani in 1987.
Origins and activities
In 1940, Borciani, Pegreffi, and Rossi first crossed paths at the Concorso Nazionale held in La Spezia, reuniting two years later at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. There, cellist Arturo Bonucci introduced them to violist Lionello Forzanti for joint study sessions. Their performance of Debussy's quartet took place in September 1942.
Rehearsals resumed in August 1945 at the Borciani residence in Reggio Emilia. The ensemble’s debut under the name Nuovo Quartetto Italiano occurred on 12 November 1945 at Sala dei Mori in Carpi, during the inaugural concert of the Società degli Amici della Musica. By the end of that year, they had performed concerts in Reggio Emilia and Milan. In March 1946, they secured victories at competitions hosted by the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Accademia Filarmonica Romana. Their subsequent engagements included appearances with Milan's Quartet Society and their first international concert at Zürich Tonhalle.
In February 1947, Piero Farulli succeeded Forzanti as violist; their initial performance with this lineup took place in Mantua. That year saw them debuting in Austria and England, participating in the Venice International Festival and Engadin Konzertwochen—where they collaborated with clarinetist Antoine de Bavier on Mozart’s Quintet K.581, which was recorded for Decca—and premiering Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Quartet No.9 at Accademia Filarmonica Romana.
Throughout 1948, the quartet embarked on extensive tours across Italy, England, Scotland, Spain, and France, delivering 63 concerts and initiating recordings with Decca Records. By 1949, their annual concert count exceeded 100 as they toured Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. At Stockholm Royal Academy, they conducted lecture-recitals alongside Gerda Busoni. Their concert activity remained robust through 1950.
By 1951, having dropped “Nuovo” from their name, they performed at both the Edinburgh and Salzburg Festivals. At Salzburg, Wilhelm Furtwängler encouraged them to embrace greater expressive freedom aligned with Grand Romanticism—a significant influence they acknowledged later. That November marked their inaugural U.S. tour, which they repeated roughly every two years until 1977. Virgil Thomson praised them as “the finest string quartet...our century has known.” After switching to Columbia Records in 1953, they gave 59 concerts across North America; that same year Elisa Pegreffi wed Paolo Borciani.
Among their notable recordings are Milhaud’s Quartet No.12 (1954) and Debussy’s Quartet (1956), which critic Robert Kemp described as “miraculous.” The group studied Mozart’s six quartets dedicated to Haydn extensively, performing them widely including venues in Milan and Fiesole. Festival appearances continued at Lucerne (1955), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1959), Prague Spring Festival (1961), and Berlin Musikwochen.
In 1977 NASA launched the Voyager probes carrying a Golden Record featuring a photograph of the Quartetto Italiano.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, their tours expanded to include Yugoslavia (1966), South America (1968), South Africa and Zambia (1970), Poland, the U.S.S.R., and Japan (1973). Their recording projects with Philips Records began in 1965 and culminated with complete cycles of Mozart by 1972 and Beethoven by 1973.
Collaborations with pianist Maurizio Pollini took place during this era. They completed Schubert recordings by 1977. Later performances often focused on masterworks by Beethoven and Schubert, frequently pairing one composition from each composer per program. In December 1977 Piero Farulli retired due to illness; Dino Asciolla took over as violist. Asciolla was a distinguished violist with numerous recordings including piano and string sonatas alongside artists such as Salvatore Accardo.
After a final tour of Israel, the Quartet ended its activities in 1980.
Later years
During his final years, Paolo Borciani (1922–1985) concentrated on producing recordings of J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue, working alongside his wife Elisa Pegreffi and students Tommaso Poggi and Luca Simoncini. Elisa Pegreffi (1922–2016) devoted much of her time to pedagogy; Piero Farulli (1920–2012) played an active role in the Fiesole school; while Franco Rossi (1921–2006) resumed his focus on chamber music performance. Each of these four musicians was honored with the Gold Medal of the Benemeriti della Scuola, della Cultura e dell'Arte by Italian President Francesco Cossiga.
Notes on recordings
Quartetto Italiano produced complete recordings of quartets by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, and Webern. Among their distinguished collaborations were Mozart's Clarinet Quintet with Antoine-Pierre de Bavier (Decca, 1952) and Brahms's Piano Quintet Op.34 featuring Maurizio Pollini (Deutsche Grammophon, 1979). Intended joint projects with Pierre Fournier and Milan Škampa were ultimately canceled due to conflicts involving scheduling and visa complications. Their comprehensive discography for Decca, Philips, and Deutsche Grammophon was compiled into a 37-CD collection released by Decca in 2015.
External links
- International Competition for young string quartets dedicated to Paolo Borciani: International String Quartet Competition "Premio Paolo Borciani"