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"Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding" – The Independent
"Luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism" – The New York Times
"The Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet...This was wonderful, selfless music-making" - The Times, London
Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. "Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding," raves the London Independent; the New York Times extols its "luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism"; the Philadelphia Inquirer praises its "seemingly infallible instincts for finding the center of gravity in every phrase and musical gesture"; and the Times (London) opines, "the Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet...This was wonderful, selfless music-making."
Within a few years of its formation, the Quartet garnered the first Cleveland Quartet Award and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award; and in 1996 the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center invited them to be the inaugural members of Chamber Music Society Two, a program which has become a coveted distinction for chamber groups and individuals ever since. The Quartet had its first European tour in 1997, and was honored in the U.K. with the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut. That debut recital was at London's Wigmore Hall, and the Quartet has continued its warm relationship with Wigmore, appearing there regularly and serving as the hall's Quartet-in-residence in the 2000-01 season.
In recent seasons the Quartet has traveled widely, appearing all over the United States and Canada, in Europe, Japan and Australia. It has performed in the world's most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Konzerthaus in Vienna; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; and the Sydney Opera House. The Quartet has participated in summer festivals such as Aspen, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the Edinburgh Festival, the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, the Taos School of Music and the Caramoor Festival. Beginning in June 2013 the Quartet will serve as the collaborative ensemble for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, succeeding the Takacs Quartet.
In addition to performing the entire two-century range of the standard quartet repertoire, the Brentano Quartet has a strong interest in both very old and very new music. It has performed many musical works pre-dating the string quartet as a medium, among them Madrigals of Gesualdo, Fantasias of Purcell, and secular vocal works of Josquin. Also, the quartet has worked closely with some of the most important composers of our time, among them Elliot Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Chou Wen-chung, Steven Mackey, Bruce Adolphe, and György Kurtág. The Quartet has commissioned works from Wuorinen, Adolphe, Mackey, David Horne and Gabriela Frank.
The Quartet celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2002 by commissioning ten composers to write companion pieces for selections from Bach's Art of Fugue, the result of which was an electrifying and wide-ranging single concert program. A similar project called "Fragments – connecting past and present" commemorated their 20th anniversary in 2011/12. For this program they commissioned six composers to write works informed by incomplete pieces left behind by previous masters. The Quartet has also worked with the celebrated poet Mark Strand, commissioning poetry from him to accompany works of Haydn and Webern.
The Quartet has been privileged to collaborate with such artists as soprano Jessye Norman, pianist Richard Goode, and pianist Mitsuko Uchida. The Quartet enjoys an especially close relationship with Ms. Uchida, appearing with her on stages in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
The Quartet has recorded the Opus 71 Quartets of Haydn, and has also recorded a Mozart disc for Aeon Records, consisting of the K. 464 Quartet and the K. 593 Quintet, with violist Hsin-Yun Huang. In April, 2012 the first of three recordings featuring the late Beethoven Quartets was released on Aeon. In the area of newer music, the Quartet has released a disc of the music of Steven Mackey on Albany Records, and has also recorded the music of Bruce Adolphe, Chou Wen-chung and Charles Wuorinen.
In 1998, cellist Nina Lee joined the Quartet, succeeding founding member Michael Kannen. The following season the Quartet became the first Resident String Quartet at Princeton University. The Quartet's duties at the University are wide-ranging, including performances at least once a semester, as well as workshops with graduate composers, coaching undergraduates in chamber music, and assisting in other classes at the Music Department.
The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved", the intended recipient of his famous love confession.
January 2013
"Luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism" – The New York Times
"The Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet...This was wonderful, selfless music-making" - The Times, London
Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. "Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding," raves the London Independent; the New York Times extols its "luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism"; the Philadelphia Inquirer praises its "seemingly infallible instincts for finding the center of gravity in every phrase and musical gesture"; and the Times (London) opines, "the Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet...This was wonderful, selfless music-making."
Within a few years of its formation, the Quartet garnered the first Cleveland Quartet Award and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award; and in 1996 the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center invited them to be the inaugural members of Chamber Music Society Two, a program which has become a coveted distinction for chamber groups and individuals ever since. The Quartet had its first European tour in 1997, and was honored in the U.K. with the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut. That debut recital was at London's Wigmore Hall, and the Quartet has continued its warm relationship with Wigmore, appearing there regularly and serving as the hall's Quartet-in-residence in the 2000-01 season.
In recent seasons the Quartet has traveled widely, appearing all over the United States and Canada, in Europe, Japan and Australia. It has performed in the world's most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Konzerthaus in Vienna; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; and the Sydney Opera House. The Quartet has participated in summer festivals such as Aspen, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the Edinburgh Festival, the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, the Taos School of Music and the Caramoor Festival. Beginning in June 2013 the Quartet will serve as the collaborative ensemble for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, succeeding the Takacs Quartet.
In addition to performing the entire two-century range of the standard quartet repertoire, the Brentano Quartet has a strong interest in both very old and very new music. It has performed many musical works pre-dating the string quartet as a medium, among them Madrigals of Gesualdo, Fantasias of Purcell, and secular vocal works of Josquin. Also, the quartet has worked closely with some of the most important composers of our time, among them Elliot Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Chou Wen-chung, Steven Mackey, Bruce Adolphe, and György Kurtág. The Quartet has commissioned works from Wuorinen, Adolphe, Mackey, David Horne and Gabriela Frank.
The Quartet celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2002 by commissioning ten composers to write companion pieces for selections from Bach's Art of Fugue, the result of which was an electrifying and wide-ranging single concert program. A similar project called "Fragments – connecting past and present" commemorated their 20th anniversary in 2011/12. For this program they commissioned six composers to write works informed by incomplete pieces left behind by previous masters. The Quartet has also worked with the celebrated poet Mark Strand, commissioning poetry from him to accompany works of Haydn and Webern.
The Quartet has been privileged to collaborate with such artists as soprano Jessye Norman, pianist Richard Goode, and pianist Mitsuko Uchida. The Quartet enjoys an especially close relationship with Ms. Uchida, appearing with her on stages in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
The Quartet has recorded the Opus 71 Quartets of Haydn, and has also recorded a Mozart disc for Aeon Records, consisting of the K. 464 Quartet and the K. 593 Quintet, with violist Hsin-Yun Huang. In April, 2012 the first of three recordings featuring the late Beethoven Quartets was released on Aeon. In the area of newer music, the Quartet has released a disc of the music of Steven Mackey on Albany Records, and has also recorded the music of Bruce Adolphe, Chou Wen-chung and Charles Wuorinen.
In 1998, cellist Nina Lee joined the Quartet, succeeding founding member Michael Kannen. The following season the Quartet became the first Resident String Quartet at Princeton University. The Quartet's duties at the University are wide-ranging, including performances at least once a semester, as well as workshops with graduate composers, coaching undergraduates in chamber music, and assisting in other classes at the Music Department.
The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved", the intended recipient of his famous love confession.
January 2013
'Le meilleur concert du festival' - Nice-Matin, 'Passionés, libres et magiques' – The Independent, 'Son et lyrisme généreux' – The New York Times, 'Le quatuor Brentano est magnifique... ils jouent pour la musique même' - The Times, London
Formé en 1992, le quatuor américain Brentano est connu pour ses interprétations alliant une technique parfaite à une musicalité hors pair.
Après seulement un an d'existence, le quatuor obtint les récompenses suivantes : Cleveland Quartet Award, Naumburg Chamber Music Award et Martin E. Segal Award et, en 1997, reçut le Prix du meilleur recital attribué par la Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award.
Le quatuor est résident des Universités de Princeton, New York et fut choisi par la Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center pour participer à l'inauguration de leur saison de musique de chambre. En Europe, il a été quatuor résident au Wigmore Hall de septembre 1999 à septembre 2001.
Les salles de concert du monde entier ont accueilli le quatuor Brentano : Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, St Luke's Hall de Londres, Philharmonie de Cologne, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Opéra de Sydney (tournée VIVA en Australie), Festivals de Salzburg, Bath et Edimbourg ainsi que toutes les villes les plus importantes aux Etats-Unis.
Parmi leurs partenaires célèbres de musique de chambre, on compte la pianiste Mitsuko Uchida, le pianiste Richard Goode et la soprano américaine Jessye Norman.
Le répertoire du quatuor est vaste avec une attention particulière à la musique de la Renaissance, période sacrée de la polyphonie que des compositeurs comme Gesualdo, Monteverdi et Josquin des Prés ont transcendée, et la musique de notre temps. Le quatuor Brentano collabore régulièrement avec des compositeurs tels que Elliot Carter ou György Kurtág et ont créé une liste impressionnante d'œuvres : quatuors de Milton Babbitt, Chou Wen-Chung, Steven Mackey et Bruce Adolphe. Pour commémorer leur dixième anniversaire, le quatuor a passé commande à dix compositeurs, dont Sofia Gubaïdulina, dont ils ont joué les pièces en alternance avec l'Art de la Fugue de Bach qui les avait inspirées.
Le quatuor Brentano enregistre pour le label français, AEON. Leur premier CD, consacré à Mozart (quatuor K464 et quintette K593 avec l'altiste Hsin-Yun Huang) : comment ne pas être saisi par la densité du tissu contrapuntique qu'ils tissent dans le premier mouvement du Quintette KV 593, ou par la plénitude lyrique qu'ils font jaillir de son poignant Adagio (Diapason (5)) est paru en février 2007, et sera suivi d'un enregistrement des quatuors tardifs de Beethoven en trois CDs ; la sortie du premier est prévue en 2011.
In 1998, le quatuor faisait appel à la violoncelliste Nina Lee pour remplacer Michael Kannen, un des membres fondateurs. Le quatuor Brentano est nommé d'après ce que de nombreux spécialistes s'accorde à penser qu'elle est la 'Lointaine Bien-aimée' à qui Beethoven déclara son amour via un de ses cycles de lieder.
Formé en 1992, le quatuor américain Brentano est connu pour ses interprétations alliant une technique parfaite à une musicalité hors pair.
Après seulement un an d'existence, le quatuor obtint les récompenses suivantes : Cleveland Quartet Award, Naumburg Chamber Music Award et Martin E. Segal Award et, en 1997, reçut le Prix du meilleur recital attribué par la Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award.
Le quatuor est résident des Universités de Princeton, New York et fut choisi par la Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center pour participer à l'inauguration de leur saison de musique de chambre. En Europe, il a été quatuor résident au Wigmore Hall de septembre 1999 à septembre 2001.
Les salles de concert du monde entier ont accueilli le quatuor Brentano : Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, St Luke's Hall de Londres, Philharmonie de Cologne, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Opéra de Sydney (tournée VIVA en Australie), Festivals de Salzburg, Bath et Edimbourg ainsi que toutes les villes les plus importantes aux Etats-Unis.
Parmi leurs partenaires célèbres de musique de chambre, on compte la pianiste Mitsuko Uchida, le pianiste Richard Goode et la soprano américaine Jessye Norman.
Le répertoire du quatuor est vaste avec une attention particulière à la musique de la Renaissance, période sacrée de la polyphonie que des compositeurs comme Gesualdo, Monteverdi et Josquin des Prés ont transcendée, et la musique de notre temps. Le quatuor Brentano collabore régulièrement avec des compositeurs tels que Elliot Carter ou György Kurtág et ont créé une liste impressionnante d'œuvres : quatuors de Milton Babbitt, Chou Wen-Chung, Steven Mackey et Bruce Adolphe. Pour commémorer leur dixième anniversaire, le quatuor a passé commande à dix compositeurs, dont Sofia Gubaïdulina, dont ils ont joué les pièces en alternance avec l'Art de la Fugue de Bach qui les avait inspirées.
Le quatuor Brentano enregistre pour le label français, AEON. Leur premier CD, consacré à Mozart (quatuor K464 et quintette K593 avec l'altiste Hsin-Yun Huang) : comment ne pas être saisi par la densité du tissu contrapuntique qu'ils tissent dans le premier mouvement du Quintette KV 593, ou par la plénitude lyrique qu'ils font jaillir de son poignant Adagio (Diapason (5)) est paru en février 2007, et sera suivi d'un enregistrement des quatuors tardifs de Beethoven en trois CDs ; la sortie du premier est prévue en 2011.
In 1998, le quatuor faisait appel à la violoncelliste Nina Lee pour remplacer Michael Kannen, un des membres fondateurs. Le quatuor Brentano est nommé d'après ce que de nombreux spécialistes s'accorde à penser qu'elle est la 'Lointaine Bien-aimée' à qui Beethoven déclara son amour via un de ses cycles de lieder.
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