A quartet made up of world-renowned musicians will be performing on the UWM campus this weekend.
The two violinists, a violist and a cellist make up the Fine Arts Quartet.
For years, their home base was Milwaukee. Although that’s not the case today, the Fine Arts Quartet has a long and enduring love affair with a passionate local fan base.
The musicians return to perform at least once a year, including on May 9, 2025, on a beautiful spring evening. A crowd streamed into UW-Milwaukee’s recital hall on a beautiful May evening and caught one of the Fine Arts Quartet’s recent local concerts.
Waiting for the performance to begin, people couldn’t contain their excitement. This was a kind of homecoming for the quartet and its devoted fans.
For more than 50 years — starting in 1963 — the quartet was in residence at UWM. They taught master classes and often performed in this recital hall. In 2017, budget cuts put an end to that relationship.
But on this evening, the musicians’ virtuosity again filled the hall, starting with a bit of Beethoven.
The quartet’s origin story dates to a different time and place — and involves people who preceded the current musicians.
The stars aligned in the mid-1940s when four members of the Chicago Symphony struck out on their own. The classical music world quickly recognized the quality of their performances.
The quartet performed live on ABC Radio in New York City. They snagged a gig on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” By the late 1970s, the quartet had performed in 28 countries and made dozens of recordings.
Fast forward to 2017, when budget cuts meant the quartet was losing its residency at UWM.
Milwaukee fans couldn’t bear the thought of losing their beloved quartet. They formed a fundraising friends group to underwrite annual festivals. That included this concert in May.
The ensemble moved into a Mendelssohn quintet, with the fifth position filled by a guest violist. He flew in from Antwerp, Belgium, to be part of the musical feast.
Watching them performe is as delightful as listening to the musicians.
They communicate with an occasional tap of a foot, a smile, a slight nod of the head. The interplay signals a delicate dance — as the musicians give individual instruments space to soar.
I caught up with the quartet the day after the concert, when they were rehearsing for their next performances.
Violinist Ralph Evans explained the allure of creating such an intimate experience in a classical music performance.
“It’s wonderful to play in an orchestra but personally you don’t have a means of expression because the conductor is leading the interpretation, and you have to fit in. In chamber music you have the chance to express yourself,” Evans says.
Evans’ long tenure is testament to his love of that expression. He joined the quartet 43 years ago, succeeding original first violinist.
Second violinist Efim Boico says he absolutely agrees.
“I have to tell you the expression, the emotional expression in the quartet is much, much bigger as in the orchestra,” Boico says.
Boico was born and musically trained in Russia. He was soloing with the Orchestre de Paris when the Fine Arts Quartet lured him away 42 years ago. Boico says he had no idea where Milwaukee was, but he knew the quartet’s reputation.
“It was a very famous group in Europe ... and they were looking for a second violinist. And, you know, I come to be in love with this quartet and these musicians,” Boico says.
First violinist Evans says they function like a democracy. That means lots of compromises.
“The compromising can be difficult at times, but most of the time it works — if you’re playing with the right people and you have the same philosophical angle to how you want to approach music. So that’s one of the joys of playing chamber music,” says Evans.
You hear the give and take as the quartet rehearses a Mozart piece. Should the tempo be faster, or a passage softer?
Individually, all four of these musicians are highly regarded in the classical music world.
Why do they continue to make time to make music together? Here’s second violinist Efim Boico’s take:
“I have friends ask me how long have you been playing in the quartet. I say 42 years. They ask, are you talking still? But we are OK, and you probably could hear it in the concert yesterday. I was so happy because the performance was so beautiful,” Boico says.
Soon the quartet will head to Europe to perform in France and later in Germany. But Boico — who decades ago had no inkling where it was — says they’ll always return to Milwaukee.
“We’re playing hundreds of concerts all over the world, but this is our home,” Boico says.
If you’d like to check out the Fine Arts Quartet for yourself, the musicians’ next local performance will be on Sunday afternoon, July 13, at UWM’s Zelazo Center.
