For the Record, Op. 263: Verona Quartet; Jaakko Kuusisto's Symphony Op. 39

December 1, 2023, 11:41 AM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!

The Verona Quartet. Photo by Dario Acosta.

György Ligeti: Complete String Quartets
Verona Quartet
Jonathan Ong, violin
Dorothy Ro, violin
Abigail Rojansky, viola
Jonathan Dormand, cello

This album, celebrating Ligeti’s centennial, presents his complete works for string quartet composed between 1950 and 1968. The two numbered string quartets are predated by a lyrical early Andante and Allegretto, the folk-music inflections of which foreshadow the hints of Bartók in the first quartet, Métamorphoses nocturnes. The calculated anarchy, dynamic extremes and sublime atmospheres of the Second Quartet present Ligeti at his most distinctive. These spectacular works are performed here by the Verona Quartet, winner of the Cleveland Quartet Award and currently serving as Quartet-in-Residence at Oberlin College and Conservatory. BELOW: Trailer for the album.

Jaakko Kuusisto: Symphony Op. 39
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Pekka Kuusisto, conducting
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins, conducting

This disc is a double tribute. First, Jaakko Kuusisto’s Symphony Op. 39 is a tribute to the composer, conductor and violinist who passed away in 2022. Illness left him unable to complete his work, so it fell to his brother Pekka – who conducts here – and Jari Eskola to finish it. The result is a powerful piece, full of familiar themes and melodies derived from Jaakko’s existing compositions, to which are added autobiographical extra-musical elements. The moving conclusion is a collage of fragmented phrases inspired by the signals emitted by lighthouses and ships, as if Kuusisto’s spirit had been sent out to sea. It also contains Pictured Within, a collective effort marking the 60th birthday of conductor Martyn Brabbins. Following the pattern of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, it is a series of 14 variations on a theme, each of which takes up the character of the equivalent variation in Elgar’s work, the difference being that here 14 different composers – Dai Fujikura, David Sawer, Sally Beamish, Colin Matthews, Iris ter Schiphorst, Brett Dean, Wim Henderickx, Richard Blackford, Harrison Birtwistle, Judith Weir, Gavin Bryars, Kalevi Aho, Anthony Payne and John Pickard – have each contributed a variation in tribute to Brabbins. BELOW: Pekka Kuusisto's Symphony, Op. 39: I. Half Note = 55 (Live):

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.

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Stan Yates

December 2, 2023 at 12:32 AM · Very cool to hear the new recording by the Verona Quartet! They were in residence with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle where my daughter performed two years before heading off to Oberlin, and working with them was a very special opportunity for her.

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For the Record, Op. 263: Verona Quartet; Jaakko Kuusisto's Symphony Op. 39

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