In 1976, four young conservatory-trained musicians formed Emerson String Quartet (ESQ), taking their name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. This week, the ensemble played its final concert after a farewell concert tour. Over these decades, ESQ has made 30 recordings, and has earned nine GRAMMYs®, three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, and Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year” award. They have recorded the complete string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Bela Bartok, Anton Webern, and Dmitri Shostakovich, as well as multi-CD sets of the major works of Franz Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Antonin Dvorak. You can use the link below to learn more about Emerson String Quartet’s legacy. Today’s Beautiful Music is their Tiny Desk Concert at NPR in Washington, DC.