For over a quarter century, the Cleveland Quartet was among the handful of top international string quartets.
It was formed in 1968 at the annual summer music institute at Marlboro, Vermont. The founders were violinists Donald Weilerstein and Peter Salaff, violist Martha Strongin Katz, and cellist Paul Katz (Martha's husband). All four were university or conservatory professors in Cleveland, Ohio. Their debut as an ensemble was in 1969 in Cleveland, and they became the quartet-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute.
In 1971, the quartet took the same position at the State U...