Chamber music quartet wins Avery Fisher Prize

Music benefactor Avery Fisher didn't take quartets into consideration when he established the prestigious classical music prize in his name in 1974.

Recipients of the Avery Fisher Prize include cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the violinist Midori and pianists Emanuel Ax and Andre Watts.

Now, for the first time in the history of the award presented by Lincoln Center, the winner is a chamber music ensemble. The Emerson String Quartet — violinists Philip Setzer and Eugene Drucker, violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel — are getting it today.

But they will have to share the $50,000 prize.