The Tokyo String Quartet is one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world. Praised for its exceptional technical command and elegant performance style, the Quartet has received extraordinary acclaim since its founding in 1969.The ensemble performs over 100 concerts each year across the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and the Far East.In June 1999, Clive Greensmith (cellist) joined the Tokyo String Quartet, replacing a founding member, Sadao Harada.

　The Tokyo String Quartet traces its origin to the Toho Academy of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Professor Hideo Saito.Violist Kazuhide Isomura, a founding member of the Quartet was joined by violinist Kikuei lkeda in 1974, who also studied at the Toho Academy of Music. Violinist Mikhail Kopelman joined the Tokyo String Quartet as the first violinist in November 1996.Kopelman studied at the Moscow Conservatory, and was the first violinist of the Borodin Quartet for two decades. Cellist Clive Greensmith, the Quartet's newest member, studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and was the principal cellist of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

　The members of the Tokyo String Quartet have served on the faculty of the Yale School of Music since 1976.Deeply committed to teaching young string quartets, they spend a considerable amount of time at the school during the academic year and, in the summer, at Yale's prestigious Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. They also give regular master-classes at the University of Cincinnati College, Conservatory of Music. Each summer, the ensemble also appears at the most prestigious music festivals across North America and Europe.

　The Tokyo String Quartet continues to perform on the renowned Stradivarius instruments known as the "Paganini Quartet," on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation since 1995.

　Exclusive BMG Classics/RCA Victor Red Seal artists, the Tokyo String Quartet has released a landmark series of recordings including the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert and Bartok.

All four instruments of this internationally renowned quartet were made by Antonio Stradivari. These instruments were once owned and played by the Italian virtuoso violinist and composer, Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840), and were consequently given the name "Paganini Quartet" .The Nippon Music Foundation purchased this quartet from the Corcoran Gallery of Arts in Washington DC in April 1994.This"Paganini Quartet"is one of six Stradivarius quartets still existing in today's world.

　

The individual instruments in this quartet include a violin made in 1690, a violin made in 1727, a viola made in 1731 and a cello made in 1736.