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The Alban Berg Quartet was a renowned classical music ensemble that was founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970. The quartet was named after the Austrian composer Alban Berg, who was a member of the Second Viennese School along with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. The ensemble consisted of four members: Günter Pichler (violin), Gerhard Schulz (violin), Thomas Kakuska (viola), and Valentin Erben (cello). The founding members of the Alban Berg Quartet were all students at the Vienna Academy of Music, where they were studying with the renowned violinist Walter Levin. They formed the quartet with the goal of exploring the works of the Second Viennese School, as well as other 20th-century composers such as Bartók, Shostakovich, and Britten. The quartet quickly gained a reputation for their technical precision and musical sensitivity, and they soon began to perform at major concert halls and festivals throughout Europe and the United States. One of the highlights of the Alban Berg Quartet's early career was their performance at the Salzburg Festival in 1971. The quartet performed Berg's String Quartet, Op. 3, which was met with critical acclaim and helped to establish the ensemble as one of the leading interpreters of Berg's music. The quartet also performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1972, where they premiered a new work by the British composer Peter Maxwell Davies. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Alban Berg Quartet continued to perform at major concert halls and festivals around the world. They recorded extensively for the EMI label, and their recordings of the complete string quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartók are considered to be some of the finest interpretations of these works. The quartet also collaborated with many other musicians, including the pianist Alfred Brendel, the clarinetist Sabine Meyer, and the cellist Heinrich Schiff. One of the most memorable performances by the Alban Berg Quartet took place in 1985, when they performed the complete cycle of Beethoven's string quartets over the course of six concerts at the Vienna Konzerthaus. The cycle was a major undertaking, and it was met with critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences. The quartet also performed the cycle at other venues around the world, including the Edinburgh Festival and the Salzburg Festival. In addition to their performances and recordings, the Alban Berg Quartet was also recognized with numerous awards and honors throughout their career. They were awarded the Grand Prix du Disque for their recording of the complete string quartets of Beethoven, and they received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2007. The quartet was also appointed as the quartet-in-residence at the Vienna Konzerthaus in 1982, a position they held for over 20 years. The Alban Berg Quartet disbanded in 2008, after nearly 40 years of performing together. Their final concert took place at the Vienna Konzerthaus, where they performed Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. The quartet's legacy lives on through their extensive discography, which includes over 100 recordings, as well as through the many musicians who were inspired by their artistry and musicianship. The Alban Berg Quartet remains one of the most celebrated and influential string quartets in the history of classical music.

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