String quartet Violini, Violetta [viola], e Violoncello senza Cembalo" (Sonata for four instruments: two violins, viola, and cello without harpsichord), this was a natural evolution from the existing tradition. The string quartet in its now accepted form came about with Haydn. If the combination of two violins, viola and cello was not unknown before Haydn, when it occurred in chamber music it was more likely through circumstance than conscious design; certainly the string quartet enjoyed no recognized status as an ensemble in the way that two violins with basso continuo – the so-called 'trio sonata' – had for more than a hundred
Fred Sherry String Quartet Fred Sherry String Quartet The Fred Sherry String Quartet is an American classical string quartet. The quartet was founded by cellist Fred Sherry to perform and record the four string quartets of Arnold Schoenberg. He appears on all recordings by the quartet. The other members of the quartet have varied over time. They have included: Mr. Sherry also formed a string sextet consisting of Leila Josefowicz and David Chan (violins), Paul Neubauer and Yura Lee (violas) and himself and Michael Nicolas (cellos) for the recording of Schoenberg's "Verklärte Nacht". The Fred Sherry String Quartet has also recorded Schoenberg's "Concerto for