Robert Koff, 86; Founding Member of Juilliard String Quartet

Robert Koff, 86, a violinist who was a founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet, died Tuesday at his home in Lexington, Mass.

The cause of death was not reported.

A native of Los Angeles, Koff graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory and earned a graduate diploma from Juilliard in 1946.

In 1946, he joined with violinist Robert Mann, violist Raphael Hillyer and cellist Arthur Winograd to form the Juilliard String Quartet.

Koff, the group’s second violinist, stayed with the quartet until 1958, when he joined Brandeis University as a teacher and director of performance activities in music.

He also taught at the Aspen and Tanglewood summer music schools.

He directed the chamber music programs at Tel Aviv University in the mid-1970s and early ‘80s and at Harvard University in 1977.

Koff also was a featured lecturer on music in a 40-part series on public television in Boston.