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May Mozart’s Last Quartets Live Long and Prosper
Music critic Jerry Dubins offers a preview from his upcoming Fanfare review of our Mozart: The Final Quartets, Apotheosis, Vol. 2 recording: “…the Alexander [String Quartet] offers a take on these works that is suffused with feelings of warmth, mellowness, and tenderness that come from maturity—maturity in this case of both the composer and the… Continue Reading
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Art Music Lounge Reviews Apotheosis Vol. 1
The Art Music Lounge‘s Lynn René Bayley reviews our Mozart: The Final Quartets – Apotheosis, Vol. 1 recording: “their performances put me in mind of the justly famous ones made many moons ago by the legendary Amadeus Quartet. … Alexander’s first violinist, Zakarias Grafilo, plays so beautifully that he could easily be a standout concerto… Continue Reading
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In Meinem Himmel in The Whole Note
“…transcriber violinist Zakarias Grafilo, gave much thought and effort to preserve some of the aural colours and even the emotional innigkeit of the original… Idiomatic and virtuoso string playing and the singing is simply gorgeous. Young American mezzo Kindra Scharich has a beautiful voice, total emotional commitment and musical imagination that certainly makes worthwhile listening. Her… Continue Reading
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Mozart Apotheosis, Vol. 1 Now Available
The Alexander String Quartet turns its attention to Mozart’s last years with this recording of the final four quartets (part of their three-volume set which includes all of his great chamber works from that period). Eric Bromberger’s liner notes are prefaced by comments from ASQ violist Paul Yarbrough, excerpted here: “Taken as a whole, Mozart’s… Continue Reading
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In meinem Himmel “is very much worth having”
“Grafilo’s sensitivity to Mahler actually comes through particularly well… all these quartet adaptations can and perhaps should be regarded as experiments in sonority and emotional communication, and if they are not entirely Mahlerian in the former of those ways, they are highly effective in the latter. Much credit for their expressive impact goes to mezzo-soprano Kindra… Continue Reading
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A Warm Recommendation for the Mozart Piano Quartets
“Joyce Yang plays with a full, brilliant tone, definitely aimed at getting the most possible out of the modern piano. The Alexanders play on a matched 1987 set of instruments made by Francis Kuttner. The violin and cello are designed after Stradivarius models. Together the strings produce a rich blended tone… Yang and the Alexanders… Continue Reading
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Music Minus One, Plus One—The Alexander String Quartet Becomes a Piano Quartet
The following interview by Jerry Dubins is from the November/December 2018 issue of Fanfare Magazine and used with permission. Two interviews and literally dozens of reviews later, the Alexander String Quartet, which has graced us with so many outstanding recordings of much mainstream string quartet literature, has joined forces with the dynamic young pianist Joyce… Continue Reading
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“You Can’t Go Wrong” With Mozart Apotheosis Vol. 2
American Record Guide critic, Paul Althouse, has a new review of our Mozart Piano Quartets recording with Joyce Yang in the November/December 2018 issue: “These Mozart quartets strike a perfect balance between vibrant energy and lyrical grace. The music never feels too slow or indulged; indeed, the energy never flags. At the same time, though,… Continue Reading
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Art Music Lounge Reviews In meinem Himmel
Lynn René Bayley offers a new review for our Mahler Song Cycles: In meinem Himmel recording on her Art Music Lounge blog: “All of these reductions were arranged by the group’s violinist Zakarias Grafilo, and they are indeed faithful to the originals in harmony and texture. … But as in the case of any album of… Continue Reading
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A Warm Recommendation for The Mahler Song Cycles from Fanfare Magazine
Fanfare Magazine’s Huntley Dent gives a recommendation for The Mahler Song Cycles: In meinem Himmel in the January/February 2019 issue: “The [Songs of a Wayfarer] song cycle poses no perplexity for the acclaimed Alexander String Quartet and mezzo Kindra Scharich. She sings with musical sensitivity, attention to the text, spot-on intonation, and a meltingly lovely timbre.… Continue Reading
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New Classics Reviews In Meinem Himmel
The UK’s New Classics review site features our new release with Kindra Scharich, Mahler Song Cycles: In meinem Himmel: “Zakarias Grafilo, violinist with the Alexander String Quartet, has transcribed these wonderful song cycles, saying that he ‘Wanted to recreate some of the aural colours from the orchestral instrumentation while maintaining the intimacy of the piano… Continue Reading
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The Whole Note Reviews Mozart: Apotheosis, Vol. 2
The Whole Note Reviews the Alexander String Quartet’s Mozart: The Piano Quartets – Apotheosis, Vol. 2 recording with pianist Joyce Yang: “Mozart was not the first to write quartets for piano and strings, but his two contributions – the Piano Quartet in G Minor K478 and Piano Quartet in E-flat Major K493 from 1785 and 1786 respectively – are… Continue Reading
