Ariel Quartet Releases Complete Beethoven Quartets over Two Year Cycle

The first volume of the two volume set is available now

The Ariel Quartet, comprised of Alexandra Kazovsky, Gershon Gerchikov, Jan Grüning, and Amit Even-Tov, is releasing the complete Beethoven String Quartets over two years, culminating in a special box set in 2027 — the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death.

The first volume of the album was recently released with Orchid Classics, the second volume and special box set will be released in November 2025 and June 2026, respectively.

To stream the album, click here.

Formed as teenagers at the Jerusalem Academy in Israel, the Quartet’s story began with Beethoven’s Op. 18 No. 4, which is the first piece they played together at age thirteen. Now, having performed all of Beethoven’s Quartets before any of the members reached the age of thirty.

“Quartets were traditionally published in sets of six, and fittingly, Op.18 became the last great quartet set of the classical period: we hear a young Beethoven proving himself on the battleground of his teachers and peers, Haydn and Mozart, while signaling a bold move toward new musical horizons,” says the Ariel Quartet.

“Zooming in and familiarizing ourselves with Haydn’s and Mozart’s quartets of the time, we quickly understand that Beethoven’s set – while adhering to the same rules and principles – is distinctly ‘Beethovenian,’” added the quartet. “While this impression can be broken down into factors such as motive-driven development, emotional contrasts, his characteristic expanded harmonic language, structural experimentation etc., the big achievement was his ability to unify these elements into a compositional language that expresses extraordinary emotional depth.”

In 2013, to mark the quartet’s 15th anniversary, the members performed their first complete Beethoven cycle. Since then, they’ve performed the full cycle six times across the U.S. and Europe.

“A happy accident kickstarted our group in 1998, when we were thirteen years old, at a school for music and dance. Amidst stretching ballerinas and improvising jazz pianists, we were simply assigned to play together,” says the quartet. “Our teacher spoon-fed us repertoire just beyond our ability, knowing we were about to discover the addictive magic of playing string quartets. We spent our teenage years rehearsing in the school attic, immersing ourselves in the rich string quartet repertoire while learning to navigate both the music and our evolving relationships.

“Our unusual journey has been fundamental in shaping who we are. Beyond the demands of our shared professional path, we have walked together as friends who have truly become family. From late-night debates about tempo and sight-reading marathons to raising our children alongside one another while balancing an international concert career, we have shared every stage of life. This closeness has created a deep and unique bond that continues to shape our identity, both on stage and beyond.”

The Ariel Quartet has recently debuted at Carnegie Hall, performed at Lincoln Center with pianist Inon Barnatan and the Mark Morris Dance Group, and recorded Brahms and Bartók for Avie Records. In 2020, they performed Daniil Trifonov’s Piano Quintet in its U.S. premiere, with the composer at the piano.

They serve as Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where they lead the chamber music program and present a concert series while keeping up a full touring schedule. The quartet has taken part in festivals like Ravina Music Festival, Yellow Barn, and the Perlman Music Program.

The quartet members studied at the New England Conservatory and were guided by Walter Levin and Paul Katz. They’ve received recognition at competitions including Quartet-in-Residence for the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, the Yellow Barn Music Festival, and the Perlman Music Program, as well as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Festival.

The quartet has received support from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation, Dov and Rachel Gottesman, and the Legacy Heritage Fund. Most recently, they were awarded a grant from the A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation.