For the Record, Op. 357: Delirium Musicum, ARC Ensemble, Dudok Quartet, Mivos Quartet

October 31, 2025, 12:41 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.

Delirium Musicum, with violinist and Artistic Director Etienne Gara, center.

Cabinet of Curiosities
Etienne Gara, violin
Delirium Musicum

This new album from Etienne Gara’s self-conducted chamber orchestra, Delirium Musicum, features pieces that explore the macabre, the unusual, and the unique. The program ranges from well-known classics – Schubert’s "Erlkönig," Saint-Saëns’s "Danse macabre," and Bernard Herrmann’s music for Psycho – together with newer discoveries, including Jisoo Lee’s arrangement of the Korean folksong "Jindo Arirang" and Gabriella Smith’s "Cactus Yucca Scrub." BELOW: "Misirlou" (Theme from "Pulp Fiction") - Etienne Gara & Delirium Musicum.

The Chamber Works of Ernest Kanitz
ARC Ensemble
Anna Štube, violin
Joel Quarrington, bass
Wallace Halladay, saxophone

The Jewish Austrian-born composer Ernest Kanitz (1894-1978) was a prominent musician in Vienna during the 1920s and 30s, with frequent concerts and radio broadcasts. Forced to flee after the Nazis’ annexation of Austria in 1938, Kanitz eventually established a career in the U.S. as pedagogue and composer, but with his death his modest renown evaporated, and his vibrant, richly melodic music disappeared from the concert stage. The ARC Ensemble presents five of his works as part of its "Music in Exile" series. BELOW: Ernest Kanitz's Violin Sonata, Op. 10, played by violinist Anna Štube and pianist Kevin Ahfat.

Terra Memoria
Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

Shostakovich regarded his String Quartet No. 3 as one of his best works and initially gave each of the movements titles such as "blithe ignorance of the future cataclysm" and Forces of war unleashed," but then withdrew the titles shortly after completing the work. Why he did this we do not know, maybe he was wary of the Soviet authorities reading unpatriotic meanings into them. Whatever the reasons, the third is a powerful statement containing the composer’s dry humor, with a good dash of sarcasm, the sinister and the passionate. Kaija Saariaho’s "Terra Memoria", her String Quartet No. 2 bears the dedication ‘for those departed’. The composer said that’ we continue to remember those who are no longer with us. Their life is complete, nothing will be added…our experiences of being with them, different aspects of their personality, certain memories haunt our dreams, some remain clear flashes which we can relive." BELOW: Shostakovich - Waltz Prelude (Op. 34 No. 2).

May Our Centers Hold
Mivos Quartet
Olivia De Prato, violin
William Overcash, violin
Victor Lowrie Tafoya, viola
Nathan Watts, cello

Founded in 2008, the Mivos Quartet is devoted to bringing new string quartet music to life, and their newest album aligns with that goal, featuring recently commissioned world premieres by George Lewis, Michaela Catranis, Jeffrey Mumford, and Ambrose Akinmusire. These quartets cover a broad range of styles. BELOW: "May Our Centers Hold" by Ambrose Akinmusire.

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. 357: Delirium Musicum, ARC Ensemble, Dudok Quartet, Mivos Quartet

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