 Below are excerpts of reviews about the Daedalus Quartet. For a full
press packet, please go to our manager's site, www.besenarts.com/daedalus.
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“magnificent performance” |
" ‘You listen to four sensible persons conversing, you profit from
their discourse and you get to know the peculiar properties of their
several instruments.' Evidently Goethe was an aficionado of the
string quartet and he would surely have appreciated the Daedalus
Quartet's excellent Musica Victoria recital: Here, indeed, were
four ‘sensible' (not to mention supremely talented) persons, whose
musical conversations certainly profited Saturday night's large and
enthusiastic audience. Rarely have I heard a quartet so
well-balanced in every regard. ... For this listener, the
Daedalus's magnificent performance of the Ravel Quartet was the
highlight of their program. The opening movement's mercurial
delights reminded me of watching a sunlit landscape as clouds pass over
it: a perspective which shifts continuously, so that the underlying
structure is forever just eluding one's grasp. The Ravel may have
been the highlight, but it was simply one among many. The evening
opened with Mozart's Quartet K. 428, one of the six dedicated to (and
mightily influenced by) Haydn. The silky-smooth opening chords
which almost seemed to float into one's consciousness, superb balance
and complete unanimity of expression were indicators of what was to
come. Which is not to say that the quartet offered us a sanitized
Mozart: the vivacious minuet was quite robust in places, the slow
movement simply sang, and the finale combined poise and exuberance." Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia)
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"Daedalus has an especially sensitive way of revealing the silences in
the music. Even one-beat rests become like moments where thoughts can
be collected before a fresh statement can be made. It feels as though
the music is being both composed and played in the moment. A fine
talent, indeed. ... Standout playing." Edmonton Journal
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“fresh, imaginative phrasing” |
"A promising group with accurate pitch control and a deep-seated
dedication supported by a keen sense of ensemble. In the Mozart,
their flexible artistry was splendid, with all four players
contributing fresh, imaginative phrasing." Ongaku No Tomo (Tokyo)
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"Full and warm in tone, always clear, and vigorous in the big climactic
passages." American Record Guide
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"They have the seriousness of purpose and the musicality needed for a
bright future." The Strad
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“Whether addressing Beethoven, Mendelssohn or Hindemith, there was a combination of stylistic awareness, technical polish and sheer musicality that could hardly be ignored. … In the hands of such musicians, the future of chamber music looks sunshine bright.”
Toronto Star
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“After a mere three years together, this ensemble has honed a big, well-blended sound that for most groups matures only after a decade or two.”
The Birmingham News
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“transporting clarity and grace” |
"Most of all, the quartet deserves recognition for a performance that
embodied the unsettled quality of the music while still emphasizing
focus and momentum. ... The evening began with a bang, with a searing
performance of Haydn's G major quartet, Op.77, No.1. The Daedalus
captured both the flash and substance of the piece, with high energy
and tempos that were often breathless but still felt organic. ...
Transporting clarity and grace."
San Francisco Classical Voice
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“Brought freshly and profoundly to life by the Daedalus players, the marvels of Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 131 caught us unaware and touched us to the quick yet again. The entrancement was complete. … The measure of this concert was how often and how deeply it moved me by the magnificence of the music and by the powerful perceptions brought to it by the Daedalus Quartet. At a time when greed flourishes, terrorists rove the world and threats of war are uttered, such enlightened music-making can only give us hope that sanity will prevail.”
Toronto Globe and Mail
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