For the Record, Op. 360: Nicola Benedetti, Quartet Integra, Johnny Gandelsman, Quatuor Diotima

November 21, 2025, 7:58 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 Nicola Benedetti. Photo courtesy Decca.

Violin Café
Nicola Benedetti, violin
Plínio Fernandes, guitar
Samuele Telari, accordionist
Thomas Carroll, cello

"The ensemble combination of violin, guitar, accordion, and cello came to me in the middle of the night," says Nicola Benedetti, "The standard violin and piano duo has a formality I knew wasn’t right, and this line-up of instruments delivers a communal, conversational ‘cafe appropriate’ sound. Our first rehearsal, given we were tackling brand new arrangements for the first time, had a higher dose of anticipation than is normal. But as we tore through one arrangement after another, we became increasingly bound as a group." The album includes arrangements of Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasie and Navarra; Wieniawski’s Polonaise; Ponce’s Estrellita; Maxwell-Davis’ Farewell to Stromness; Bloch’s Prayer; Debussy’s Beau Soir and Sicilienne, as well as traditional Scottish music. BELOW: the Skye Boat Song.

Beethoven, Ligeti, Lefkowitx: String Quartets
Quartet Integra

Martin Beaver, first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet, calls the members of Quartet Integra "four of the brightest young stars in classical music today." Recorded as the culmination of the quartet’s three-year residency at Los Angeles’s Colburn School, their debut album showcases quartets by Beethoven and Ligeti juxtaposed with a new work by David Lefkowitz, finished earlier this year as fires were consuming whole neighborhoods in Los Angeles. "Green Mountain" is a reference to the name of the composer "Monteverdi," whose works are quoted - as well as to the hills of Los Angeles that were on fire near Lefkowitz’s home as he composed. BELOW: "Green Mountains Now Black," by David S. Lefkowitz.

The American Revolution - music from the PBS documentary
Johnny Gandelsman, producer
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Brooklyn Rider

This album features music from "The American Revolution," a six-part, 12-hour PBS documentary series being released this week that explores the United States' founding struggle and its eight-year War for Independence. In production for more than nine years, it was directed and produced by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt and written by long-time collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward. The film uses a variety of music, both from the period and newly composed pieces for the series. Produced by violinist Johnny Gandelsman, music from the documentary features performances by Jake Blount, Brooklyn Rider, Mike Block, Nora Brown & Stephanie Coleman, Hanneke Cassel, Rhiannon Giddens, Jennifer Kreisberg and Yo-Yo Ma, among others. BELOW: "Three If By Air," featuring Shanir Blumenkranz, Johnny Gandelsman, Dana Lyn, Karen Ouzounian and James Shipp.

Lachenmann: Works for String Quartet
Quatuor Diotima
Yun-Peng Zhao violin
Léo Marillier violin
Franck Chevalier viola
Alexis Descharmes cello

In celebration of Helmut Lachenmann's 90th birthday, Quatuor Diotima presents Lachenmann: Works for String Quartet, the culmination of a 25-year collaboration with the visionary composer. Their first meeting in 1998, originally just a one-week workshop, sparked a deep artistic bond and a shared fascination with his radical approach to sound and listening. This album is the result of hundreds of hours spent in rehearsal, performance, and conversation – a tribute to a composer who has become a central figure in contemporary music. Known for pioneering “instrumental musique concrète,” Lachenmann redefined the sonic possibilities of the string quartet. BELOW: Quatuor No. 1 "Gran Torso, 21 1" by Helmut Lachenmann.

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.

You might also like:

* * *

Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.

Replies

You must be registered and logged in to submit a comment.

For the Record, Op. 360: Nicola Benedetti, Quartet Integra, Johnny Gandelsman, Quatuor Diotima

Replies

Subscribe

Laurie's Books