The Orford String Quartet was a Canadian string quartet active from 1965 through 1991. They came to be the leading string quartet in Canada, and were well-known internationally. The summer of 1965, two Canadians that violinist Laurent Fenyves was teaching in Geneva, Andrew Dawes and Kenneth Perkins, came to study at the Orford Summer Music Camp. They formed a string quartet with Terence Helmer and Marcel Saint-Cyr. From 1965 to 1967, the quartet toured Canada on behalf of Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. The quartet continued touring after they began their association with the University of Toronto in 1972. The Orford Quartet shared first prize in a string quartet competition that the European Broadcasting Union held in 1974. They received the Canadian Music Council Award in 1978 for their recording of the Mendelssohn Quartets No. 1 and 2, and the council's Grand prix du disque in 1981 for a recording of quartets by John Beckwith and R. Murray Schafer then again in 1983 for a recording of the Beethoven string quartets. After more than 2,000 concerts on six continents, the Orford String Quartet gave its last concert in 1991.
Two decades later, in July 2009, the New Orford String Quartet took up this mantle, giving its first concert for a sold-out audience at the Orford Arts Centre. The New Orford has since gone on to perform concerts throughout North America and lead residencies at the University of Toronto, Schulich School of Music, Mount Royal University, and Syracuse University. In September 2017 the Quartet became Ensemble in Residence at the University of Toronto, and was recently named Artistic Directors of the Prince Edward County Music Festival, where they made their curatorial debut in September 2018.
In 2011, the Quartet recorded its debut album of the final quartets of Schubert and Beethoven, released by Bridge Records to international acclaim. The recording was hailed as one of the top CDs of 2011 by La Presse and CBC In Concert and nominated for a JUNO Award in 2012. Critics have described the recording as “…flawless… a match made in heaven!” (Classical Music Sentinel); “a performance of rare intensity” (Audiophile Audition); and “nothing short of electrifying… listen and weep.” (The Toronto Star). Their follow-up album of the Brahms Op.51 Quartets was equally well-received, and received the 2017 JUNO for best chamber music album.
Here we see the 2020 edition of The New Orford Quartet playing Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3, 2nd movement:
To check our listings of The Orford String Quartet and The New Orford String Quartet recordings in various media formats:
