Skyros Quartet releases new CD

The Skyros Quartet is releasing their first CD, "Introspective Odyssey."
The Skyros Quartet is releasing their first CD, "Introspective Odyssey."

Skyros Quartet releases new CD

calendar icon13 Aug 2015    

Lincoln, Neb.--The Skyros Quartet are releasing their first CD, “Introspective Odyssey,” on Navona Records on Aug. 14. It is available on both Amazon and iTunes.

The Skyros Quartet, which consists of Sarah Pizzichemi, violin, James Moat, violin, Justin Kurys, viola and William Braun, cello, were the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence in the Glenn Korff School of Music. They completed their doctoral work in May 2015 and were admitted to the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Center for Advanced Quartet Studies this summer.

The CD follows three composers on a journey through early 20th-century Europe, reflecting on various experiences including the life of a student, the rush of bullfighting and the folklore of Scandinavia with works by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), Joaquín Turina (1882-1949), and Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).

Written while he was a student, the Three Divertimenti by Britten creates a dazzling and witty display of youthful enthusiasm. Weaving a narrative tone poem set in Spain, Turina presents an exotic showpiece in La Oración del Torero (The Prayer of the Bullfighter), with a distinct flamenco flair through the idiom of French post-impressionism. Subtitled "Voces Intimae" ("Intimate Voices"), Sibelius wrote these words on the manuscript over three dark and hushed chords in the third movement, marking the center of String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56. The composer combines post-romanticism, 20th-century modernism, and Scandinavian folksongs influenced by the Kalevala, the national epic poem of Karelia and Finland.

The captivating and emotive interpretations by the Skyros Quartet show them as a versatile, fastidious, and passionate group, versed in performing a number of musical styles and traditions.

Founded in 2010, Skyros received Masters in Chamber Music Performance from the University of Texas at Austin’s Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music and were mentored by the Miro Quartet and Sandy Yamamoto.

At UNL, they were under the guidance of the Chiara String Quartet. They received funding support for recording the CD by the Hixson-Lied Endowment.

The Skyros Quartet are moving to Seattle to begin their full-time career as a quartet.

For more information, visit http://www.skyrosquartet.com/.