The Aizuri Quartet is an American
string quartet formed in 2012.
Known for its performance of new music as well as the traditional repertoire, it has served as the quartet-in-residence at a number of cultural organizations, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, 2017–2018, the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 2015–2016, and the
Curtis Institute, 2014–2016. Its name is taken from
aizuri-e
The term ''aizuri-e'' (Japanese: "blue printed picture") usually refers to Japanese woodblock prints that are printed entirely or predominantly in blue. When a second color is used, it is usually red. Even if only a single type of blue ink was ...
, a Japanese style of woodblock printing that is mostly blue.
Members
The quartet was founded by Ayane Kozasa, viola, Karen Ouzounian, cello, and Miho Saegusa and Zoe Martin-Doike, violins.
Martin-Doike departed in 2015, and was replaced by Arianna Kim.
[
] With Kim's departure late in 2019, violinist Emma Frucht joined the ensemble.
Awards
The Aizuri Quartet has been selected to receive the Cleveland Quartet Award for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons.
The Aizuri Quartet was awarded the Grand Prize First Place at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition.
In 2017, the quartet won First Place at the ninth Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and Festa.
Aizuri was also awarded third place at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.
Commissioned works
Works written expressly for the Aizuri Quartet include:
*
Lembit Beecher, ''Sophia's Wide Awake Dreams''
*
Evan Premo'', Deeply Known''
*
Yevgeniy Sharlat, ''RIPEFG''
*
Caroline Shaw
Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices'' and the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporar ...
, ''Blueprint''
*
Gabriella Smith, ''Carrot Revolution''
*
Paul Wiancko
Paul Wiancko (born 1983) is an American composer and cellist of the Kronos Quartet.
Early life and education
Paul Kenji Wiancko was born in San Clemente, California. He began playing the cello at age 5 and composed his first piece at age 8. , ''Lift''
Recordings
''Blueprinting'', New Amsterdam, 2018;
nominated for a
Grammy award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
.
''The Bells Bow Down: Chamber Music of Ilari Kaila'', Innova, 2020.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2012
American string quartets
2012 establishments in the United States