NPR MUSIC: Best Classical Albums Of 2018
NPR MUSIC: Best Classical Albums Of 2018
BY TOM HUIZENGA
“These limber and luminous performances by the Aizuri Quartet, in music written specifically for the group by young composers, proves that the 250-year-old string quartet formula remains vibrant and vital. Blueprinting, the band's Grammy-nominated debut album, sports a thoughtful Beethoven-inspired piece (Blueprint) by new music darling Caroline Shaw. But the pieces by four other, lesser-known composers are equally compelling. Gabriella Smith's Carrot Revolution sizzles with slurred melodies and pulsating beats, while Yevgeniy Sharlat's RIPEFG memorializes a friend by contrasting movements of frenzy and quiet introspection with the addition of a melodica. Lembit Beecher draws from his opera to create an evocative dream state of slippery string figures and his own "sound sculpture" of wine glasses and music box. If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wianko's LIFT, which looks back to the conventions of the genre from a postmodern perch.”