albums
Jefferson Friedman: Quartets
Chiara String Quartet & Matmos
Released 2011 New Amsterdam Records
Jefferson Friedman: Quartets
Chiara String Quartet & Matmos
Released 2011 New Amsterdam Records
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American composer Jefferson Friedman's music has been called 'impossible to resist' by The New York Times, and Sequenza 21 reports, '[Mr. Friedman] goes a lot further toward sustaining interest and tension than composers twice his age (and with Pulitzer Prizes).' His work has been performed throughout the United States and abroad, most notably at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Columbia University's Miller Theatre, the Bowery Ballroom, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and the American Academy in Rome. Jefferson Friedman: Quartets includes pristine yet passionate recordings of the composer's second and third quartets, works that demand to be considered modern masterpieces.
The Baltimore-based experimental electronic duo Matmos contributes two mind-bending 'remixes' to this album, using the quartet recordings as source material. Known for their pop-leaning music concrete soundscapes, Matmos has come to define a new generation of 'found sound' artists. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently collaborate with other artists, including most notably Björk, So Percussion, and J Lesser.
Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
Released 2007 Chiara New Voice Singles
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Second in the Chiara New Voice Singles series, this recording features Gabriela Lena Frank's 2001 String Quartet written for the Chiara Quartet and is the definitive recording of the work.
". . . a luminous work that translates Andean folk music to the string quartet medium. [Gabriela Frank] has a highly refined ear, which results in string writing that is exceptionally smooth and idiomatic yet that in its imitation of panpipes and other indigenous instruments bursts with color and fresh individuality."
•L.A. Times
Nadia Sirota "First Things First"
Released 2010 New Amsterdam Records
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Buy at www.newamsterdamrecords.com »
Violist Nadia Sirota, one of the leading lights of New York's "indie-classical" scene, takes center stage with her debut recording, first things first, issued by New Amsterdam Records on May 19, 2009. Hailed by Time Out New York as one of New York's "brightest, busiest players," Nadia has earned praise for her "command and eloquence" (Boston Globe), as well as her "energy, fluidity [and] ear for electronic coloration" (New York Times). The twenty- something musician has commissioned and premiered works by some of the most talented composers of her generation, particularly the three whose music appears on first things first: Marcos Balter, Judd Greenstein, and Nico Muhly. The disc comprises five solo tracks plus Muhly's Duet No. 1 (with cellist Clarice Jensen) and Greenstein's The Night Gatherers, featuring Nadia and The Chiara String Quartet.
Chosen by the classical critics of The New York Times as a Notable CD from 2009.
Brahms and Mozart: Quintets for clarinet and strings
Hakan Rosengren, clarinet/Chiara String Quartet
Released 2006 SMS Classical
Brahms and Mozart: Quintets for clarinet and strings
Hakan Rosengren, clarinet/Chiara String Quartet
Released 2006 SMS Classical
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Tracks
Brahms Clarinet Quintet: I. Allegro
Brahms Clarinet Quintet: II. Adagio
Brahms Clarinet Quintet: III. Andantino; Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
Brahms Clarinet Quintet: IV. Con Moto
Mozart Clarinet Quintet: I. Allegro
Mozart Clarinet Quintet: II. Larghetto
The quintessential clarinet quintets of Mozart and Brahms as recorded by the Chiara Quartet and clarinetist Håkan Rosengren.
"Perfectly balanced between lyricism and drama, clarity and warmth, our five musicians offer insightful readings. Rosengren is thoroughly integrated, weaving his way into the very fabric of the string texture as though he's been playing with them for ages." --William Stibor, NPR
Triptych
Released 2004 Chiara New Voice Singles
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Triptych was written for the Chiara Quartet in 2002 by Robert Sirota.
This powerful and spiritually uplifting tribute to the memory of the victims of 9/11 has been well-received in diverse audience settings.
"The work's integrity and wellwrought material made a positive impression, which augurs well for a life well beyond the topical. The performance was equally persuasive."
•The Strad
"Robert Sirota's Triptych...is explicitly related to 9/11. Sirota has avoided gimmickry and sensationalism, however, and there's a sincerity to this string quartet that will give it [...] staying power[.] The music is heartfelt and honest, without becoming hysterical, morbid, or pretentious. I hear nothing to suggest that this performance is anything less than definitive."
•Fanfare