Martha Strongin Katz

Who is Martha Strongin Katz?

Martha Strongin Katz is a violist and member of the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she teaches viola and chamber music. She was a founding member of the Cleveland Quartet, along with her former husband, Paul Katz, and Peter Salaff and Donald Weilerstein. From 1969 until her departure from the group in 1980, she performed more than 1,000 concerts, including appearances at the White House, the Grammy Awards, on the NBC Today Show, and in the major concert halls of five continents.

A noted soloist, her appearances include a Carnegie Hall performance of Berlioz's Harold en Italie with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the Bartók Viola Concerto with L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, recital and concerto performances at the 1989 International Viola Congress, and countless recital and concerto appearances.

Strongin Katz plays a viola made by Lorenzo Storioni of Cremona in 1800.

Ms. Strongin Katz previously served as Professor of Viola at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University from 1996–2000 and at the Eastman School of Music, where she taught from 1976–1996.