A debut album is always somewhat of a profession of faith. The Isidore String Quartet – violinists Phoenix Avalon and Adrian Steele, violist Devin Moore and cellist Joshua McClendon – chooses Adoration a program that carries both an artistic vision and personal significance. The CD is dedicated to the memory of cellist Joel Krosnick (1941–2025), long-time member of the Juilliard String Quartet and a defining mentor to this young ensemble. That dedication is no empty gesture: it colors the entire recording.
The name "Isidore" honors the legendary violinist Isidore Cohen, an early member of that same Juilliard Quartet. From the first note on the CD, however, you notice that this connection to a glorious tradition doesn't weigh on the quartet as a burden, but rather serves as a compass: the musicians approach the familiar as new and the new as familiar – precisely the Juilliard legacy they were given.
Architectural starting point
The String Quartet in C major op. 20 no. 2 is one of the most ambitious quartets by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) from the so-called "Sun" series (1772). Particularly the closing fugue – Fugue in 4 Voices – is a tour de force that pushed the boundaries of the genre at the time. The Isidore Quartet plays this opening movement with a remarkable combination of structural clarity and narrative drive. The Moderato breathes with space; the melodic lines are passed around like in an animated conversation. The Capriccio: Adagio receives the necessary expressive freedom, without losing sight of the structure. The Minuet: Allegretto brings welcome lightness: the musicians take their time with the elegant dance steps without overdoing them, and the trio breathes with restrained grace. And that closing fugue? Sharp, rhythmically tight, but never mechanical – the four musicians sense precisely when a voice may come forward and when it must retreat into the fabric.
Central breath
The Very slow from the String Quartet op. 11 by Samuel Barber (1910–1981) – in its well-known orchestral version become synonymous with collective mourning in times of national grief – sounds here in its original form, intimate and poignant. The Isidore Quartet lays this work down as one long held breath. That the musicians recorded this piece after the death of their mentor, you can hear, but it translates not into a whiff of cheap sentimentality, but into musical concentration with a long, hanging phrasing that glows with restrained intensity.
The Call of Happiness
The String Quartet in E-flat major op. 44 no. 3 wrote Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) in 1838, shortly after his marriage to Cécile Jeanrenaud. The music radiates zest for life and emotional fulfillment, and the Isidore Quartet seizes that tone with both hands. The ). "A rather dull piece," is how he dismissed the following, "tedious" opens with a sparkle that immediately sets the tone: light, elegant, full of confidence. The Scherzo: Very Light and Lively is one of those moments when you realize you're listening to musicians who are having fun with what they do, and who share that pleasure generously. The Adagio not too slow has a restrained, refreshing intimacy that sounds just a bit different from the heavy seriousness that some ensembles bring to this movement; the final section too, Very Fast with Fire is performed with drive and precision without the music sounding harsh or hurried.
Stillness
The CD closes with Adoration by Florence Price (1887–1953), arranged for string quartet by Samuel Araya. Price, a pioneer among African-American composers and one of the first whose work was performed by an American symphony orchestra, wrote this modest and deeply moving piano piece in 1951. The arrangement is serene and respectful: warm harmonies, flowing lines, an intimate, almost spiritual stillness that perfectly rounds off an album that – despite all its diversity – keeps returning to the question of what music can give us in times of both loss and joy.
An ensemble to cherish
Adoration is a debut that immediately establishes the calling card of a mature ensemble. The Isidore String Quartet plays with a sound that is both refined and open, with an ensemble balance that rarely flaunts itself ostentatiously but always sounds perfectly natural.
With this album, the Isidore String Quartet has had its say – and if you listen carefully, you can already hear the outlines of a distinctive voice.
