Schumann Quartet - Mozart, Ives & Verdi : String Quartets (2015)

“We have become far more open as interpreters and musicians; we are more alert and take more risks,” says Erik Schumann. The new CD reflects this increased willingness to take risks on the basis of a matured artistic judgement with works by W. A. Mozart, Charles Ives and Giuseppe Verdi. After their CD début in 2013, for which the three brothers Erik, Ken and Mark Schumann drew plenty of laurels from the critics, they are now presenting a new studio production, together with the Estonian viola player Liisa Randalu. The three works recorded here have been in the quartet’s repertoire for some time, maturing over many concert performances, which meant that “it was time to make our statement about the pieces on CD,” explains Erik Schumann.