Reviews
Quartet playing doesn´t get much better
than this
"The Arianna Quartet makes music with the tonal warmth, fastidious
balance and heightened communication skills of groups many years its senior.
In Schubert´s Quartettsatz, and especially a shimmering and stylish
reading of the Ravel Quartet, the silken refinement of the playing was
achieved with no loss of expressive vitality or spontaneity. Quartet playing
doesn´t get much better than this"
-Chicago Tribune
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Pure and Brilliant
"I was happy to see that this group concentrates their energy on
contemplation of the pieces and clear expression of the musical structures,
rather than merely showing off their technique. In the Mozart, their capacity
of keeping the phrases pure and innocent was impressive, and the ringing,
clear and energetic staccato was something I had not heard in a long time.
The Beethoven Op.95 and Bartok No.6 are pieces that can sound extremely
complex and confusing. However, the Arianna Quartet´s careful control
of volume and harmony of each phrase and the mosaic-like organization
resulted in an expression of the pure and brilliant structure of these
works. This way of always naturally expressing the works may seem unoriginal,
but it requires the highest technique. I deeply respect each member of
the group for taking on the challenge of this task."
-Ongaku no Tomo, Tokyo Japan
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Arianna String Quartet offers great music-making
The members of the Arianna Quartet combine outstanding musicianship, technical
mastery of their instruments, energy and focus that add up to great music-making.
The inner voices are never covered; all the parts are brought out, and
the emotional side is carefully balanced with the thoughtful. In Dvorak´s
Op.51 quartet, the quartet showed lyricism, balance and that thoughtful
phrase-making ability"
-St. Louis Post Dispatch
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Radiant from the first moment
"... an ensemble of experts with the perfect balance of discipline and emotion."
- A.M. Leon, Mexico
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Quartet´s playing both flawless and
warm
"The Arianna Quartet issued a thoughtful, expressive and technically
flawless performance, and it sounded beautiful."
-The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, OH
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Arianna String Quartet never less than elegant
The Arianna Quartet made a strong argument for Bartok´s Fourth String
Quartet in its performance for the Charleston Chamber Music Society. It
didn´t dwell on the dissonant harmonies or angular rhythms that
many ensembles exploit to bring energy to one of the great works of the
repertoire. Rough edges were ground down, and tones were drenched in diaphanous
color."
-The Charleston Gazette, Charleston, WV
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Arianna Quartet presents another fine program
The Mozart set the tone for the performance and was delivered with the
group´s accustomed precision, elegance and nearly telepathic rapport.
The players delivered an electric performance that made this a genuine
tour de force."
-St. Louis Post Dispatch
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Arianna String Quartet shows its excellence
Leading off the evening was a crystalline, yet warm rendition of Haydn´s
Quartet in E-flat Major, Op.64, No.6. The emotional high point of the
evening was the relatively unfamiliar Quartet No.3, Op.94 by Benjamin
Britten. At the hands of the Arianna, this haunting selection packed tremendous
emotional punch, especially in the somber tolling of the final movement.
The program was rounded out with a fine performance of Ravel´s Quartet
in F Major."
-St. Louis Post Dispatch
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Mixture of exultation and melancholy was
perfectly balanced
"Two members of the distinguished Vermeer Quartet joined the players
of the Arianna String Quartet for a lustrous reading of Brahms´
G Major String Sextet. Led by the Arianna´s sweetly sumptuous first
violin, the Brahms Sextet had a quietly rhapsodic drive. Its mixture of
exultation and melancholy was perfectly balanced; shifts in mood, especially
in the scherzo and trio, were always convincing."
-Chicago Sun Times
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Tonally alluring and intellectually challenging
"The Arianna Quartet´s performance of Janacek´s "Kreutzer
Sonata" Quartet was beautiful, simply beautiful. The opening gesture
of Beethoven´s Op.18, No.3 quartet was gorgeous, and the whole of
Britten´s last quartet was cogently argued. Clearly, the Arianna
Quartet is tonally alluring and intellectually challenging."
-The Ann Arbor Observer, Ann Arbor, MI
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Quartet´s technical virtuosity impressive
"It didn´t take long before one heard the reason behind the
impressive success of the Arianna String Quartet. These musicians displayed
the smooth blending of sound that many quartets spend decades trying to
achieve. In the Mendelssohn Op.12, the group flew through the “rapids”
in perfect symmetry and clean phrasing, an impressive technical feat.
The Stravinsky was filled with its pungent dissonance yet so cleanly played
one could enjoy its satire and rhythmic accents. “La Oracion del
torero” by Turina and the gentle Elegy by Puccini were both filled
with slow passages played with loving care."
-Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey
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Arianna String Quartet is delightful
"Performing a varied program ranging from Beethoven to Stravinsky,
the ensemble was so in sync with each other and the music they were performing
that they seemed to breathe in unison. The Arianna Quartet is truly a
thing of beauty to behold. All four play with the expertise of seasoned
veterans and the exuberance and passion of youth. This combination makes
for the highest of performing ensembles."
-Heritage Newspapers/Press & Guide, Dearborn Michigan