During his forty-three year career with the quartet he received awards from the Hungarian Government of the Knight's Cross and the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, he began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving his first lessons from a Gypsy violinist neighbor.
At fourteen he entered the Béla Bartók Secondary Music School in Budapest and upon graduation from that institution he entered the prestigious Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
New York Times music critic Jeremy Eichler wrote of Károly: "...The second violinist, Karoly Schranz, is the musical heart of this quartet, and he often leans toward the center of the ensemble as he plays, urging the phrases forward from deep within the fray.
He and the cellist, Andras Fejer, are the only two original members remaining, though their dark, rich Central European tone is still at the core of the quartet's sound.