For the Record, Op. 356: Tomás Cotik, Ilya Gringolts, Trio Brontë, Balourdet Quartet, Cassatt Quartet

October 24, 2025, 1:46 PM · 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! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.

Violinist Tomás Cotik.

Paganini Capriccio
Tomás Cotik, violin
Monica Ohuchi, piano

On his latest album, Portland-based Argentinian violinist Tomás Cotik emphasizes Paganini's inspiration, not just as a virtuoso, but also as a composer inspired by Bel Canto opera. Dazzling pyrotechnics blend with achingly beautiful lyrical melodies; there’s that demonic quality to be found in such Caprices as No. 24, but also angelic voices in the Cantabile and the "Moses Fantasy," which features Portland pianist, Monica Ohuchi. BELOW: Cotik performs Paganini's Caprice No. 21 in A Major (Amoroso – Presto).

Nicolaus Richter de Vroe: Violin Concerto, Avenir
Ilya Gringolts, violin
Wolfgang Mitterer, organ
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Kalitzke conducting

Violinist and composer Nicolaus Richter de Vroe has been associated with numerous German orchestras and new music groups, and both works on this album - world premiere recordings - were commissions from Musica Viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk. Richter de Vroe’s Violin Concerto – initially inspired by Ilya Gringolts's interpretation of Ligeti's Violin Concerto – was composed between 2018 and 2020. Avenir for organ, choir and orchestra was recorded at its world premiere in 2014, performed by organist Wolfgang Mitterer. BELOW: Nicolaus Richter de Vroe's Violin Concerto: VII. Zwei Ausgänge

Works for Trio by Schubert and Rihm
Trio Brontë
Chiara Sannicandro, violin
Lili Bogdanova, piano
Annie Jacobs-Perkins, cello

The composer Robert Schumann wrote in 1836 that "one glance at Schubert’s (B-flat) Trio — and the wretched hustle of men flies away and the world once again shines bright and fresh..." Trio Brontë, founded in 2022 in Berlin, won the 2025 "Franz Schubert and Modern Music" competition in Graz with the program on this album, featuring that very trio - Franz Schubert’s Piano Trio in B-flat major D. 898 - as well as Wolfgang Rihm’s "Fremde Szene III." BELOW: Trailer for the album.

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Shades of Night
Kareem Roustom, composer
Balourdet Quartet

Syrian American composer Kareem Roustom brings the music of Syria, Palestine and the Levant into the Western classical repetoire with string quartet performance by the Balourdet Quartet. "This music is a natural expression of my multifaceted identity and varied interests, but it is also my hope that this music may help people from the Arab world and the 'Western' world to better understand each other," Roustom said. "Though both are comprised of a beautifully dazzling variety of cultures, religions, and complex histories, there is a shared humanity." BELOW: Roustom's Syrian Folk Songs Book 1: I. This Tawny Beauty.

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Toward Light: Quintets by Daniel Strong Godfrey
Cassatt String Quartet
Ursula Oppens, piano
Eliot Fisk, guitar
Nicole Johnson, cello

The Cassatt String Quartet, now in its 40th year, features works by composer Daniel Strong Godfrey (b. 1949) in its latest album, which includes three quintets for string quartet and piano, guitar, and cello respectively. BELOW: Toward Light: I. Dusk: Prayer.

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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For the Record, Op. 356: Tomás Cotik, Ilya Gringolts, Trio Brontë, Balourdet Quartet, Cassatt Quartet

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