How do String Quartets Get Names

I'm sure it's different for different quarters. Here are some examples (I don't know the answer for any of the ones you gave).

The Lindsays took their name from Lord Lindsay, the vice-chancellor at Keele University where the quartet had their first residence.

The Belcea rather more obviously take their name from their leader, violinist Corina Belcea.

Then there is the Budapest Quartet. It's true that it started out as four members of the Budapest Opera Orchestra, but by the time of their peerless recordings of the Beethoven Quarters in the early 50s it was four Russians, based in America who, according to the liner note from the United Archives issue of those recordings were "influenced by an essentially German form of performing and who were confessed admirers of a famous French quartet!".

regards, Tam

quote:

Originally posted by James Hamilton:
I am wonderring about quartets like Borodin Quartet / Alban Berg Quartet ....

Do they need permission to use the name of the composer [and from whom ??]

Also Quartette Itallinio [who decided they were the Italian national quartet ? -- is it just they where the first to use the name ? ]

can I start my own quartet and can I call it the Stockhausen Quartet [do I need to ask Stockhausen's estate] or the Bach Quartet ??

James H.

You could take a bunch of LSD and open the dictionary to a random page, like the Grateful Dead did.

With Stockhausen, you may have to ask permission as the composer has only recently passed away. Bach is public domain so no problem, unless there's already an established, published Bach Quartet.

There's a current Ysaÿe Quartet which takes its name in tribute to the original Ysaÿe Quartet, founded by violinist Eugene Ysaÿe, which gave the first performance of Debussy's sublime quartet in G minor. The current Ysaÿe Quartet's recording of the Debussy and the Ravel quartets is wonderful but out of print, I believe.

All best,
Fred

Wikipedia has (as you would expect) a list of string quartets. It's here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_string_quartet_ensembles
In keeping with what is a traditional medium, the names are pretty traditional. Even the avant garde Arditti quartet is merely named for its leader, like many others.
I like the Flonzaley Quartet (just a nice word) of which Wikipedia has to say: "The Quartet was the deliberate creation of Éduard J. de Coppet of New York, who in 1902 engaged the original members to devote themselves entirely [sic] to quartet-playing, and not with any view to giving regular concerts in public [!]. The group took its name from de Coppet's summer villa near Lausanne, in Switzerland, where the four musicians first rehearsed..."
Many are named after places, of which the Miami quartet seems the most implausible. OK, that's just me being all Miami-ist again.
The Armadillo quartet generates the most bizarre mental image.
And, as for the Puddles quartet, there isn't a single sensible page on Google about them, so I suspect someone is being mischievous.
cheers

One really obvious one is the excellent Hagen Quartet which was formed by four siblings, Angelika, Veronika, Clemens and Lukas Hagen. Angelika has left them but the other three are still playing in the quartet together with a second violin whose name I forget.
Ken

Slightly off-topic maybe, but I have often wondered about the name of the Beaux Arts Trio. I know what it means, but "Beaux Arts" sounds very similar to the French pronunciation of "Mozart" (especially if you have a cold) so has someone created a good pun?