The Ariel Quartet, distinguished by its virtuosic playing and impassioned interpretations, makes its debut recording pairing two giants of the string-quartet world, Bela Bartok and...

The Ariel Quartet, distinguished by its virtuosic playing and impassioned interpretations, makes its debut recording pairing two giants of the string-quartet world, Bela Bartok and Johannes Brahms. Both composers stand as significant pillars of the youthful Quartet’s two-decade-long journey. The Ariel Quartet earned its glowing international reputation early on, having formed in Israel when its members were students in middle school. The Ariel now serves as the Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music Debut. This release is the first in a projected series pairing the quartets of Bartok and Brahms. “…a blazing, larger-than-life performance…” (The Washington Post) “…the sum of the quartet is indeed greater than its parts…”(The Strad)

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REVIEWS:

The Ariel can enchant, as they do in the Quasi minuetto movement of the Brahms, with its nostalgic, Old World melancholy. And their confident unanimity allows them to convey ferocity without ever seeming to break a sweat – listen, say, to how neatly and nimbly they spring through the Bartok’s final pages. I’m not convinced such sleek virtuosity is what this music demands, mind you.

– Gramophone

Fierce, fiery Bartók that engages from the start and Brahms that has real shape and drive.

– BBC Music Magazine