Diffusion
Azica, 2021
8/10
The Verona Quartet, i.e. violinists Jonathan Org and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky and cellist Jonathan Dormand, offer us a very thoughtful debut album here, where they celebrate the cross-cultural connection and migration through music of compositions by Janácek, Szymanowski and Ravel.
The album leads with Leoš Janáček’s “String Quartet No. 2 ‘Intimate Letters’”, where an indeed vulnerable spirit surrounds the diverse strings that are as likely to be bare as they are radiant, where both dramatic moments and much sophistication highlight the meticulous energy.
The middle track, “String Quartet No. 2, Op. 56”, by Karol Szymanowski, then displays a sublime, sparse approach that occasionally shifts into giant swells of tense, precise instrumentation. The players are acutely aware of each other’s presence, while twisting and turning with grace and playful navigation.
Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in “F Major, M. 35” exits the listen, and does so with fascinating synergy between the players, as each one somehow recruits chamber, orchestral and classical qualities to the highly well thought out finish.
A very worldly effort, the members of Verona Quartet hail from all over the globe (Asia, North America and Europe), and their respective talents bring plenty of timeless string traditions, while also exploring the depths of their inimitable chamber music formula on this top notch first record.
Travels well with: Catalyst Quartet- Uncovered Volume 1; Eric Lyon- Giga Concerto