Since its formation, in 1980, the Lydian String Quartet has inspired critical acclaim worldwide. The Quartet's special flair and interpretive mastery of standard and contemporary repertoire has won the ensemble prizes at international competitions in Canada, France, England, and in New York (where they garnered the prestigious Naumburg Award for Chamber Music). Based on their exploration and deep understanding of the composer's expression and craft, the Lydians offer compelling, superbly integrated, and marvelously elegant performances of the quartet literature. Through concerts, recordings, workshops, lectures, and master classes, the Lydians bring to life music spanning two-and-a-half centuries. Their programming of traditional and contemporary, formal and informal, helps to build new audiences for the spiritually refreshing world of chamber music.

The LSQ has performed extensively throughout the United States at venues such as Jordan Hall, in Boston; the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress, in D.C.; Lincoln Center, and Weill Recital Hall, in New York City. Abroad, the Quartet has made appearances in France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, and Armenia.

In past seasons, the Lydians have created intriguing programs such as:

• "Around the World in a String Quartet," a multi-year concert series that explored string quartet music in global settings within and beyond the European tradition;
• "Vienna and the String Quartet," a five-year project which surveyed the heart of the string quartet repertory by juxtaposing new and old Vienna on each program. Along with music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms, and, as well, music of Wolf, Kreisler, Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg, audiences were additionally treated to music by Harbison, Martino, and Persichetti — contemporary composers who have responded to the Viennese tradition.
• A celebration of Jewish culture, a year that was dedicated to works by composers such as Bloch, Boykan, Wyner, Shostakovich, Golijov, and Leo Ornstein.

Essential to the spirit of the Lydians is the commissioning and recording of new works. Their five-year "American Originals" Project, from 1995-2000, featured the rich repertoire of the 20th-Century American string quartet. During that time they performed or recorded over sixty works by American composers, often accompanying their concerts with workshops, lectures, and discussions.

Winners of a Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the Quartet has also received grants from the Meet the Composer/Rockefeller Foundation/AT&T Jazz Program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, and numerous awards from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

The Lydian Quartet has recorded twenty CDs of music from Schubert and Brahms through Hyla, Boykan, Ornstein, Persichetti, and Wyner. Their recording of John Harbison's String Quartet No. 3 and "The Rewaking" was chosen by both The New York Times and The Boston Globe as one of the best classical recordings of 2001. Their latest recording of the first four string quartets of John Harbison was the recipient of a Copland Fund grant and was released by Centaur in 2009.

The members of the Lydian String Quartet are on the faculty of Brandeis University, in Waltham, Massachusetts:

Joshua Gordon