Praised by The Washington Post for “captivating” performances that draw from its notable “meld of intellect, technique and emotions,” the Aizuri Quartet was awarded the Grand Prize and the CAG Management Prize at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, along with top prizes at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan, and the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London. The Quartet’s debut album, Blueprinting, featuring new works written for the Aizuri Quartet by five American composers, was released by New Amsterdam Records and nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award.
Show Notes
Lembit Beecher (b. 1980)
These Are Not Estonian Flowers*, inspired by Alma Thomas’s painting, Breeze Rustling Through Fall Flowers
See the painting here.
Paul Wiancko (b. 1983)
Purple Antelope Sound Squeeze*, inspired Sam Gilliam’s mixed media artwork, Purple Antelope Space Squeeze
See the painting here.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat major, Op. 127
*Commissioned by the Phillips Collection with support from Sachiko Kuno Foundation.