The first Viennese string quartet as such, formed in 1971, proved to be one of the most innovative chamber music ensembles of its time. Formed by four professors from the Vienna Academy of Music, the Alban Berg Quartet was taught in Cincinnati (USA) until June 1971 by Walter Levin (LaSalle Quartet), and gave its first concert on October 5 of the same year in the Mozartsaal of Vienna's Konzerthaus, after receiving permission from the widow of composer Alban Berg (1885-1935), Helen Berg, to exploit his name. Comprising Günter Pichler (first violin), Klaus Mäzl (second violin, replaced in 1978 by Gerhard Schulz), Hatto Beyerle (violist, replaced in 1981 by Thomas Kakuska, then by Isabel Charisius in 2005) and Valentin Erben (cello), the quartet was influenced by Berg's Viennese School, Schönberg and Webern, the quartet's activities cover the entire chamber music repertoire, from the 18th and 19th centuries (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvořák, Janáček) to contemporary composers Berg, Berio, Rihm, Schnittke, Haubenstock-Ramati, Schwertsik and Wimberger, whose works it premieres on disc. The ensemble's annual tours met with great success in the world's major concert halls, while many of his recordings for Teldec (1973-1978), then EMI, won Grand Prix du disque, Diapason d'or, Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and Prix Edison. Three years after Thomas Kakuska's death from cancer, the Alban Berg Quartet embarked on a farewell tour, concluding at Buenos Aires' Teatro Colón on July 1, 2008. Thereafter, the members of the quartet take on the role of pedagogues, advising musicians from the Amadeus, Artemis, Belcea, Casals, Fauré, Amaryllis, Amber, Arasello, Aron, Aviv and Schumann Quartets. In 2020, the release of The Complete Recordings (62 CDs, 8 DVDs), voted Diapason d'or, serves as a reminder of the quartet's importance. After the successive deaths of Thomas Kakuska in 2005 and Klaus Mätzl in 2016, Hatto Beyerle, who was also a member of L'Ensemble (1982-1998), died on October 16, 2023 at the age of 90. On April 24, 2026, first violinist Günter Pichler, the only member of the quartet from beginning to end, died in a car accident at the age of 85.
