The Brown University Department of Music remembers Ludwig "Lutz" Rath who passed away on November 7, 2023. Mr. Rath was a teaching associate in our department in the 1980s and the cellist of the International String Quartet which was quartet-in-residence at Brown during that time. Professor Emeritus David Josephson shared the following words:

"I remember him with affection and respect. We enjoyed each other's company from the day, as Music Department Chair, I inaugurated a quartet-in-residence program with the International String Quartet in conjunction with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, where Lutz and his colleagues - the late Chihiro Kudo, Machie Oguri-Kudo, and Jim VanValkenburg - served as first chairs of their respective sections. Their recitals were the crown jewel of Brown's concert season year after year, and Lutz was their anchor. He was not only a superb cellist but also a cultivated musician with an appetite for music no matter its source, and a man of vast culture. A fearless adventurer and nonpareil charmer, Lutz had a great zest for life, a brilliant mind, and an infectious sense of humor. He warmed every room he entered. We were lucky to have crossed his path."

In addition to myriad musical appointments and engagements over the years, Mr. Rath had been the director of the Washington Square Music Festival since 2001. The Festival has dedicated their next concert, taking place Sunday, November 19 at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, to the memory and legacy of their longtime director and friend. More information is available at the Festival's website. Additionally, according to the Washington Square Music Festival, a memorial service will be planned for Mr. Rath sometime in the spring of 2024.