On this recording, a new generation of the Juilliard Quartet fitting marks the 75th anniversary of it’s founding with three cornerstone works of Beethoven, Bartók and Dvorák. The present-day members of the Juilliard Quartet are all members of the string faculty at the Juilliard School, as has been the case since the Quartet’s founding in 1946 at the suggestions of the school’s president, the composer William Schuman. The Juilliard Quartet, led by first violinist Robert Mann, were among the earliest and most compelling champions of Bartók’s quartets, performing the first complete public cycle of the quartets in 1949 (to an audience that included a visiting Dmitri Shostakovich) as well as making the first recordings of all six quartets in 1950. Fittingly, the Third Quartet recorded here was the first one learned by the then newly-formed Juilliard Quartet

“While its membership has changed over the decades…its trademark tonal beauty, sensitively attuned ensemble and technical splendour is amply on show in this recording…Bartók’s String Quartet No. 3 comes bowling out in technicolour, its details microfocused and textures so complex that sometimes it is hard to believe only four instruments are playing. ” — BBC Music Magazine

“Whenever this trio plays, drop everything and go hear them!” hailed the Boston Globe on the occasion of The Boston Trio’s Tanglewood debut at Ozawa Hall. Since their formation in 1997, the trio has quickly become one of today’s most exciting chamber ensembles. Acclaimed for their “rich and rewarding, absolutely balanced” sound (Virginia Gazette), these virtuosic and profound musicians are committed to creating exceptional and daring performances of standard and contemporary repertoire.

A unique excursion into the varied landscapes of lyricism and tonal color made possible by traditional cellistic virtuosity combined with state-of-the-art electronics. Each of Green’s 15 movements explores a different sound world, all tied together into a long compositional arc that constitutes a single musical journey. Cellist Astrid Schween’s artistry is grandly captured by sound engineer Tom Eaton, who brings to the recording an ambient and audiophile perspective not usually found in classical recordings.