Breve—Euclid Quartet (Afinat 2401)
This ensemble came together here in Ohio in 1998, and takes its name from Cleveland’s Euclid Avenue, identified on the quartet’s website as the “famous…home to a wealth of renowned artistic and cultural institutions.” Indeed! From Severance Hall to the Idea Center at Playhouse Square, home of WCLV/Ideastream! Within its first three years, the Euclid Quartet was awarded the String Quartet Fellowship of the Aspen Music Festival, and was then invited to study with the Emerson String Quartet at the Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop. Its four members constitute a multinational mix: violinists Jameson Cooper and Aviva Hakanoglu, violist Luis Enrique Vargas, and cellist Justin Goldsmith. In 2009, the ensemble was awarded the “American Masterpieces” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Since 2007, the Euclid Quartet has been in residence at Indiana University South Bend, where its members teach private lessons and coach chamber music. The Euclid is a frequent guest ensemble at American and Canadian music festivals, including the Kent/Blossom Festival, and its members have worked with renowned artists, including James Dunham, Gregory Fulkerson, and Paul Katz, Breve is a curated collection of 11 short, stand-alone works for string quartet.
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio & Fugue in c K 546
2. Javier Alvárez: Metro Chabacano
3. Giacomo Puccini: Chrysanthemums
4. Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade
5. William Bolcom: Graceful Ghost Rag
6. Dmitri Shostakovich: Polka From 'The Golden Age'
7. George Gershwin: Lullaby
8. Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 12 'Quartettsatz' D 703
9. Anton Webern: Langsamer Satz
10. Astor Piazzolla: Four, For Tango
11. Joaquin Turina: The Bullfighter's Prayer Op 34