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
Stanford String Quartet epitomizes central European musicianship at its best: sensible, comfortable, unassuming . . ." The Johnston and Bolcom quartets were recorded in 1991 by Laurel Records in Los Angeles, California, at Paramount Hall and Skywalker Hall. Also on this initial signature CD is the String Quartet by Marc Neikrug, "Stars the Mirror." This CD gave all three compositions their world premiere recording. After the retirement of Andor Toth in 1989, the members of the Quartet were Phillip Levy and Susan Freier, violins; Bernard Zaslov, viola; and Stephen Harrison, cello. This quartet recorded a CD in 1993 that was released in 1994