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Kontras Quartet - All Made of Stories: Music for String Quartet by Antonín Dvořák, John Elmquist, Rhiannon Giddens, Komitas (Vartapet), Bongani Ndodana-Breen and Steven Snowden (2024)

Kontras Quartet - All Made of Stories: Music for String Quartet by Antonín Dvořák, John Elmquist, Rhiannon Giddens, Komitas (Vartapet), Bongani Ndodana-Breen and Steven Snowden (2024)

BAND/ARTIST: Kontras Quartet

  • Title: All Made of Stories: Music for String Quartet by Antonín Dvořák, John Elmquist, Rhiannon Giddens, Komitas (Vartapet), Bongani Ndodana-Breen and Steven Snowden
  • Year Of Release: 2024
  • Label: MSR Classics
  • Genre: Classical
  • Quality: flac lossless (tracks)
  • Total Time: 01:12:36
  • Total Size: 349 mb
  • WebSite:
Tracklist

01. John Elmquist: Sacred Traces
02. At the Purchaser’s Option with Variations (Arr. Jacob Garchick)
03. String Quartet No. 10 “Slavonic”: I. Allegro ma non troppo
04. String Quartet No. 10 “Slavonic”: II. Dumka (elegie); Andante con moto
05. String Quartet No. 10 “Slavonic”: III. Romanze; Andante con moto
06. String Quartet No. 10 “Slavonic”: IV. Finale; Allegro assai
07. Apologia at Umzimvubu (Version II for String Quartet)
08. Hidden Mothers: I. Pam
09. Hidden Mothers II. Yon-Ju
10. Hidden Mothers: III. Lauren
11. 14 Pieces on Themes of Armenian Folk Songs (Arr. Sarkis Aslamazyan): I. Dear Shogher
12. 14 Pieces on Themes of Armenian Folk Songs (Arr. Sarkis Aslamazyan): XI. Festive Song
13. 14 Pieces on Themes of Armenian Folk Songs (Arr. Sarkis Aslamazyan): V. Red Shawl
14. 14 Pieces on Themes of Armenian Folk Songs (Arr. Sarkis Aslamazyan): VIII. Echmiadzin Dance

KONTRAS QUARTET explores the role of chamber music in the new millennium, at once keeping classic tradition and style alive while embracing new opportunities and fusing genres to expand the art form and include a more diverse audience. Formed in 2009, the ensemble has become known both for their vibrant, nuanced and crisp performances, and their unique penchant for exploring the folk roots of classical music. Kontras’ welcoming, friendly approach to the recital stage has attracted audiences worldwide for more than a decade. For the curious, Kontras means “contrasts” in the Afrikaans language – fitting for a string ensemble with a colorful repertoire spanning centuries, genres and continents.

Kontras Quartet’s recent engagements include international tours of South Africa and Switzerland, broadcasts on classical radio stations nationwide (including Performance Today and a residency with Chicago’s WFMT radio station; performances at Chicago’s Symphony Center and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.; and television appearances on NBC and PBS. Kontras served as Artists in Residence with San Diego’s Art of Elan from 2018-2021, commissioning and premiering multiple new works and collaborating with numerous artists including Malashock Dance and Branford Marsalis. They also collaborated with the Kruger Brothers on tour of Switzerland in fall 2023.

As a recording ensemble, Kontras Quartet has released three critically acclaimed albums, with plans for more, including The Moonshine Sonata (DoubleTime Records). Their first, Origins, on MSR classics [MS1537], was commended by Gramophone for the group’s “scrupulous shading and control”. The second, Lucid Dreamer, a 2013 Chamber Music America commission, treads the line between classical music and American folk and invigorates Kontras’ ongoing collaboration with the esteemed Kruger Brothers trio, as does their 2017 release, the Roan Mountain Suite.

All four Kontras members are passionate music educators. In addition to holding faculty positions at Elmhurst University, Kontras served as Quartet in Residence at Western Michigan University from 2014 through 2020 and held short-term teaching residencies at University of California San Diego, University of Chicago, and others. In 2016, the quartet received a grant from the Boeing Company to perform a series of outreach programs to thousands of students across the Chicago metropolitan area.

The Kontras Quartet gained early acclaim during a four-year chamber music residency with the Western Piedmont Symphony, established through Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership Program. While in North Carolina, they made a significant community impact in the Hickory metropolitan area with innovative and interactive programming, performing for more than 40,000 school and college students in addition to their popular recital series. Kontras Quartet’s early mentors included the Vermeer Quartet and Juilliard Quartet.

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