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Formed in 1992, the Arianna Quartet gained national attention by winning the Grand Prize in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and First Prize in both the Coleman and Carmel Chamber Music Competitions. They were also Laureates in the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition. The ensemble's performances have been praised for "tonal warmth, fastidious balance...expressive vitality" (Chicago Tribune) and "emotional commitment and fluent virtuosity," (Pretoria News, South Africa).
The Arianna Quartet has appeared throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia with frequent visits to Brazil and South Africa, and the group's live performances are heard on National Public Radio's "Performance Today," and "Live from Music Mountain," which broadcasts to 125 stations in the U.S. and to 35 countries. The ASQ has recorded for Albany Records and Urtext Digital Classics, and has a long-term contract with Centaur Records. Their most recent release, of the two string quartets of Janácek, is now available with the six op. 18 quartets by Beethoven soon to follow.
The Arianna String Quartet is the ensemble-in-residence at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The ASQ introduces new and exciting compositions alongside their fresh, spontaneous perspectives on much-loved works from Haydn to Shostakovich.
Recognized for its highly effective approach to coaching as a quartet, the Arianna String Quartet leads the design and implementation of numerous chamber music programs including Britt Quartet Academy, FEMUSC Intensive Chamber Music Program in Brazil, and most recently, the University of Western Cape Chamber Music Institute. In addition to intensive musical training for string quartets, this institute centers around the ideas of community, outreach and entrepreneurship, helping students develop skills for a self-sustaining business that gives back to their communities through teaching and performances. Additionally, the ASQ hosts the Arianna Chamber Music Festival held on the campus of the University of Missouri, St. Louis, where they have been full-time faculty since 2000.
A Centaur recording of the ensemble performing chamber works by Mozart received a very positive review and strong recommendation from me in Fanfare 34:6. The Arianna String Quartet may also be heard on a number of other albums in works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, and in scores composed specifically for the ensemble by American composer Anthony Iannaccone.
Almost every long-surviving chamber music...