For the Record, Op. 323: Lyris Quartet, Viktoria Kaunzner, Venuti String Quartet, Viktoria Grynenko

March 9, 2025, 5:47 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.

The Lyris Quartet: Alyssa Park, Shalini Vijayan, Timothy Loo and Luke Maurer.

Corey Field - Music for Strings
The Lyris Quartet
Alyssa Park, violin
Shalini Vijayan, violin
Luke Maurer, viola
Timothy Loo, cello
The Budapest Scoring Orchestra
Corey Field, composer

The Los Angeles-based Lyris String Quartet presents Corey Field's String Quartet, composed in 2024, a highly-listenable, rhythmically quirky work. It also has a beautiful, lyrical slow movement, which the composer expanded for string orchestra - the album also includes that adaptation, called "Her Soul in the Stars," performed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. BELOW: The string quartet, performed by the Lyris Quartet, with score:

Saiga Antelope
Viktoria Elisabeth Kaunzner, violin
Universal Korean Organic Ensemble, Juan Pablo Hellín, conducting

In this recording, Viktoria Elisabeth Kaunzner has compiled a selection of contemporary works for violin and orchestra by female composers, including herself. "During my long period in Seoul as a professor of violin, I heard the ballet Giselle set to music by Adolphe Adam and was enchanted by an orchestration completely new to me: the instruments of the classical symphony orchestra were augmented by a few selected instruments with silk strings and rosewood such as are familiar in east Asia." Thus began her idea of merging Eastern and Western traditions in music, and forming an ensemble to do such. In this album, her works stand by violin concertos by other women: the late Argentinian composer Claudia Montero's tango violin concerto and Romanian composer Violeta Dinescu’s "Roman Fleuve," dedicated to Kaunzner. BELOW: Claudia Montero's Violin Concerto: I. En la esquina rosada

Drew Jurecka & Maurice Ravel: String Quartets
Venuti String Quartet

This album celebrates Ravel’s 150th birthday but begins with Venuti String Quartet member and co-founder Drew Jurecka’s string quartet, a composition that explores and blends classical and jazz influences. This is followed by Ravel’s only string quartet in F Major, composed during his student years at the Paris Conservatory. The album concludes with "The Spider," a collaborative piece at breakneck speed by Jurecka and Jay Danley, paying tribute to Carl Stalling, who wrote music for Looney Toons and Merry Melodies cartoons. BELOW: The Lemur and the Violin- Scherzo by Drew Jurecka- animated music video:

Unbroken: Music from Ukraine
Viktoria Grynenko, violin
Roger Admiral, piano
Fabiola Amorim, viola
Amy Nicholson, cello
Vladimir Rufino, violin
Guillaume Tardif, violin

Ukrainian Canadian violinist Viktoria Grynenko presents a new album featuring works for violin by contemporary Ukrainian composers, including Zoltan Almashi, Boris Loginov, Valentin Silvestrov and Oleg Bezborodko, with a piece by Ukrainian Canadian Anna Pidgorna. She describes the recording as her "reaction to the full-scale war in Ukraine," and a way to "amplify Ukrainian voices for audiences around the world." The works are about resilience and the generosity of the Ukrainian spirit. See this story for more. BELOW: Duo No. 1 by Zoltan Almashi.

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. 323: Lyris Quartet, Viktoria Kaunzner, Venuti String Quartet, Viktoria Grynenko

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