As with most ensembles with such a long and distinguished history as the EDINBURGH QUARTET, a list of commissioned works and first performances would occupy huge acres of space, and be skimmed over by all but the most assiduous eye.

The EQ's relationship with Leighton and Gal is well known, and is touched upon elsewhere in this site. Less is heard of the work done in the 1970s and 80s in association with Tippett, Simpson, Luytens (Opus 139 and the 1982 commission), McCabe etc.

Championship of Scottish quartets has been almost exclusively in the hands of the Edinburgh Quartet. Their performance of Thomas Wilson's Third Quartet earned them the prize for performance of a contemporary work at the 1976 Evian International Competition, and led to the commission and BBC TV premier of his Quartet No 4. Again, a list of composers whose work has been performed, commissioned or broadcast would be far too long to be useful, but would feature quartets and other works by Crawford, Cresswell, Dillon, Dorward, Osborne, Harper, McEwen, McGuire, McLeod, MacMillan, MacRae, Nelson, Stevenson, Ward etc.

More recently, a "Premieres Tour" of concerts in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Striling resulted in new works being commissioned from Amanda Collins, Matthew Roddie and Ken Dempster, woven through with work in thiry-odd schools throughout central Scotland. The connection with the Ian Tomlin Music School at Napier University has brought a fruitful and developing collaboration with Dempster, Napier's composer-in-residence. His three string quartets, the moving childrens' opera "Faraway Pictures" (on the story of St Kilda) and other works have featured frequently in the EQ programmes, and the sessions and concerts undertaken together with Napier's composition students have been very exciting for all concerned.

Work at Edinburgh University has resulted in premieres of many young composers' pieces, including Marina Adamia and Jeremy Cull, along with frequent workshop performances of a new generation of writers - an ongoing feature of the Quartet's activities. Mixing with other disciplines sees it sharing the stage with singers (Burns Songs by Arthur Blake, Scottish Songs by John Maxwell Geddes, Eric Rice and Patrick Stephen-Samuels) or bagpipes (specially composed work by Martyn Bennett and Lindsay Davidson, with more to come). The theatrical limelight has been shared with dancers throughout Scotland to music as diverse as Ornette Clennon and (with Scottish Ballet) Schubert!

Yes, the Edinburgh Quartet's repertoire is firmly centred upon the great music and the famous names of the whole earlier European tradition. But with a deep study of the Second Viennese School, wide-ranging programmes of American music, Bartok cycles achieved and Shostakovich cycles to come, the 21st century is a further challenge to be savoured.