CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED RECORDINGS
Del Sol has released four critically acclaimed CDs since 2002--First Life (2009), a world premiere recording of the complete string quartets of American composer Marc Blitzstein; Ring of Fire: Music of the Pacific Rim (2008), a compilation of works by eight composers from around the Pacific Rim; The Complete Works for String Quartet (2005) by American composer George Antheil; and Tear (2002), featuring works by 20th century masters alongside recent works by young composers from the Americas.
The CDs have received high praise from a variety of critics, including Gramophone, which described Del Sol as "masters of all musical things...playing with a combination of ferocious attack, riveting interplay and silken splendour"; The Strad, which lauded the group's "gloriously opulent, full-throated tone"; and Chamber Music Magazine, which featured Del Sol's Blitzstein and Antheil CDs in a recent 5-page article on these composers.
Del Sol String Quartet: Recordings
MARC BLITZSTEIN: First Life
"Titled First Life, it contains a number of unpublished and barely-heard works from the late 20s and early 30s, given passionate performances by the Del Sol String Quartet. This is smart and energetic music, filled with then-experimental flourishes, and well worth putting on your shelf or in your playlist." -Steve Layton, Sequenza 21
"Del Sol savors the flip side of Blitzstein's rebelliousness: The group's heartfelt performance of "Serenade" makes the best case imaginable for often subdued music that seems to reflect the composer's torment over sexual identity and class privilege. This is vital stuff." -Jason Victor Serinus, San Francisco Magazine
RING OF FIRE: Music from the Pacific Rim
"The San Francisco-based Del Sol Quartet are masters of all musical things they survey on this disc" - Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone Magazine
"…[T]ake a musical tour of the Pacific Rim via the Del Sol String Quartet's ear opening new album 'Ring of Fire.' There are still plenty of awkward East-West fusions out there, but you won't find them in this bracing sampler, performed with sensitivity and flair by the San Francisco-based foursome." -Jeremy Eichler, The Boston Globe
"The Del Sol String Quartet…checks in with a powerful and diverse compilation of recent work by Pacific Rim composers…[T]he nine pieces here…carry on a spirited conversation…What binds them all is a shared sense of moral urgency, as well as a determination to step outside the norms of European quartet writing."
-Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
"What a great CD it is! I can't imagine a better performance of my piece."
-Peter Sculthorpe, Composer
GEORGE ANTHEIL: The Complete Works for String Quartet
"Fabulously played by the Del Sol String Quartet, which has the perfect tone for Antheil -- mellow but not sentimental and the virtuosity to dash through his prestos, toccatas and allegros with breathtaking elan."
-Stephanie von Buchau, Bay Area Reporter
"The Del Sol String Quartet plays like gangbusters throughout."
-Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
TEAR
"Seizing the senses from the first downbeat, immediately engrossing and consuming to the inner soundworld, this startling album of contemporary string quartets is an absolute must for the Classical devotee. Dashed with a Latin element, with pieces by Ginastera and Piazzolla, as well as exciting works by notable and respected American composers, John Harbison, Lou Harrison, and Earle Brown, these fervent, explosive, demanding and even noble pieces combine for a powerfully concentrated album of arresting music. Knife-edged technique meets fluid artistry and inexhaustible imagination with matched precision and passion; absolutely one of the finest string quartets on the rise." CD Baby
"By putting music that is immediate-and to use that all-too-cited radio buzzword "listener friendly"-next to more intrepid audio territory, the Del Sol String Quartet sell it all, making a strong case for the breadth and depth, and yes, joy, of the music of the here and now!" New Music Box -Frank Oteri
MUSIC OF KUI DONG: Since When Has the Bright Moon Existed?
Chinese-American composer Kui Dong draws inspiration from old forms, employs unusual instrumental combinations, and even commingles four languages within her compositions on this collection of world premiere recordings. The pairing of the Del Sol String Quartet with the Chinese music ensemble Melody of China bears brilliant results on Dong's seasons cycle, inspired by both Vivaldi and Cage, titled Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
