Miro Quartet: Ginastera
| 1. | Introduction | 00:00:50 |
| 2. | Ginastera: Quartet No. 1 for Strings, Op. 20 | 00:24:34 |
| 3. | Ginastera: Quartet No. 3 for Strings with Soprano, Op. 40 | 00:33:05 |
| 4. | Closing | 00:00:30 |
In this program, we travel to Argentina, a country rich in history, culture, geography, gastronomy, and folklore. Alberto Ginastera was one of the 20th century’s most important composers. Ginastera was classically trained yet drew on his homeland’s extraordinary elements for inspiration including in his three string quartets. From the first and second movements’ depictions of the fiery gauchos, displaying their prowess on horseback, to the slow movement’s depiction of a starry night, the first quartet is a tour of Ginastera’s beloved Pampas and their rich culture. For his third quartet, Ginastera drew inspiration from Arnold Schoenberg’s idea to incorporate a singer, as Schoenberg did in his second quartet from 1908. Premiered in 1974, the Ginastera quartet draws its inspiration from the work of three poets who address broad subjects such as love and war and constitutes one of the most effective and moving chamber works of our time.
PROGRAM
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Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983) |
Quartet No. 1 for Strings, Op. 20 (1948) Miro Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello) |
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Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983) |
Quartet No. 3 for Strings with Soprano, Op. 40 (1973) Kiera Duffy, soprano; Miro Quartet (Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello) |
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Miró Quartet
The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated string quartets, praised as “furiously committed” by The New Yorker and recognized for its “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Marking its 30th anniversary in 2025, the quartet has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, Texas, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the quartet takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music. They were members of CMS Two (now the Bowers Program) from 2001 to 2003. Since 2003, they have served as the quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. They were members of CMS Two (now the Bowers Program) from 2001 to 2003.
The Miró Quartet’s newest album, an acclaimed recording of Ginastera’s complete string quartets, was released on Pentatone in July 2025. Among its many previous recordings for a variety of global labels, the quartet was nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for its album Home (Pentatone, 2024) featuring two new commissions by Kevin Puts and Caroline Shaw, as well as works by George Walker and Samuel Barber. It was also nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award for its album House of Belonging, created in collaboration with Austin-based choral group Conspirare.
The quartet’s recent and upcoming projects include Here on Earth with pianist Lara Downes, the premiere of a new version of Kevin Puts’s Credo, and collaborations with composers Steven Banks, Tamar-Kali, and Gabriel Kahane, as well as soprano Karen Slack and the Isadore Quartet.
The Miró Quartet took its name and its inspiration from the Spanish artist Joan Miró, whose Surrealist works—with subject matter drawn from the realm of memory, dreams, and imaginative fantasy—are some of the most groundbreaking, influential, and admired of the 20th century.