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| Concerts |
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| Berg, Schoënberg, Schubert – European tour with Mitsuko Uchida |
| "Earlier in the evening, the Brentano Quartet, of which Lee is a member, gave a violent performance of Berg's Lyric Suite, while Uchida played Schubert's D899 set of Impromptus with emotive finesse. Both were superb." |
| The Guardian – March 2006 |
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| "Written more than a dozen years after the Schoenberg, Lyric Suite as played by the Brentano Quartet came over, completely naturally, as an obvious continuation of late-19th century Romanticism. Although it was his first major work to use the 12-tone technique or serialism as developed by his teacher Schoenberg, Berg's richness of harmony belies the exclusion of tonality. Here was music being made, the listener taken by the ears into the inherent beauty of the piece, regardless of any era. The homogeneity of approach - balance, gesture, stroke - between the players was extraordinary; the tenderness, fluency, dynamic control and architectural sense exceptional." |
| The Independent – March 2006 |
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| "At St Luke’s, the Brentano Quartet started with a performance of Berg’s Lyric Suite that was perfectly judged in terms of its intimacy and inner poetry for the excellent acoustics." |
| The Financial Times – March 2006 |
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| Library of Congree, Washington |
| "The Brentano’s performances of Bach and his contemporary admirers were brilliantly exact and passionate, and the freshly written musical perspectives were acutely intelligent, daringly ambitious, often witty and always deeply committed to the celestial spirit that animates Bach’s genius." |
| The Washington Post – 18 November 2002 |
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| Rothko Chapel, Houston |
BRENTANO QUARTET BREATHES LIFE INTO HAYDN’S ‘SEVEN SONATAS’
"…the vivid commitment, lush sound and carefully developed detail of the Brentano’s interpretation. It was as profound as a listener could want." |
| Houston Chronicle – 22 February 2002 |
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| Merkin Concert Hall, New York |
| "As usual with this ensemble, the performances were full of life….They seem to be listening to the same heartbeat." |
| The New York Times – 23 November 2001 |
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| Royal Festival Hall |
| "The glittering clarity of the Brentano’s sound was intoxicating, the music’s impact heightened by a spontaneity of phrasing and depth of intimacy simply not possible with a larger ensemble....a revelatory performance." |
| The Strad – July 2001 |
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| "…in these exemplary performances, there were startling musical revelations in the intimate dynamic between soloist [Mitsuko Uchida] and string quartet. Uchida and the Brentanos caught brilliantly this sense of overflowing creativity." |
| ****The Guardian – 5 April 2001 |
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| Alice Tully Hall, New York |
| "The Brentano String Quartet is something special. These are musicians who take the great priority of chamber performance – that of playing not so much out to the audience as in to one another, and to the music – to an exquisite extreme. Their music making is private, delicate and fresh, but by its very intimacy and importance it seizes attention." |
| The New York Times – 20 April 2001 |
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| Wigmore Hall |
| "The Brentano Quartet soon showed how they had earned their Edinburgh Festival engagement and their current position as artists-in-residence at the Wigmore Hall….displayed all the classic virtues of quartet playing – individual skill and initiative, unity of purpose and an eagerness to participate in conversational interplay....an ensemble of exceptional insight and communicative gifts." |
| The Daily Telegraph – 23 August 2000 |
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| "For true musical excitement, however, you cannot beat the Brentano String Quartet….such was their ferocity on Saturday night that the instruments almost burst into flames. But the miracle in this young American group, the Wigmore Hall’s new Quartet-in-Residence, lies just as much in their tenderness as in their fearless attack….Make no mistake: the Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet….This was wonderful, selfless music making." |
| The Times – 11 April 2000 |
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