Reviews

BBC Music

“The works played here reflect the intense experimentalism of Beethoven’s middle years – the leading Viennese critic of the day declared the ‘Razumovskys’ ‘not generally comprehensible’ – and the Calidore Quartet are well up to all the challenges…this album set is highly collectible.”

Strings Magazine

As a group, we worked very hard to find a stylistic and sound aesthetic that was different but related when moving from the early quartets to the late quartets, because we also wanted our sound concept to evolve toward the later works that point toward Romanticism. And we also wanted to honor the traditions of the Classical style, which we studied quite a lot, and to emphasize the idea that all of these influences were in one person and to show where Beethoven went with them.

Infodad

"there is precious little here that does not work on its own terms, and in fact the players’ sit-up-and-take-notice approach again and again sheds new light on the music and justifies their handling of it even when what they do is a bit outside the performance mainstream. As in their recording of the late quartets, the sheer technical prowess of the Calidore String Quartet is everywhere on display here, their interpretative abilities shine through again and again, and the commitment and excellence of ensemble that pervade this release place it among the very best recordings of this repertoire available today."

The Strad

"A second volume of quartets impresses with its drama."

Gramophone

"What cannot be denied is the sophistication and sheer polish — in tuning, rhythm and ensemble — of the Calidore's Beethoven." & "...Beethoven-playing of rare vividness and technical aplomb."

Exclusive Magazine

Review of "Beethoven: The Middle Quartets"

"Their interpretation is informed by their diverse set of mentors which include Alban Berg, Emerson, Guarneri and yet still uniquely representing the sentiments, aesthetics and research of their generation."

Le Devoir

"Guest artists from the American west coast, the Calidore Quartet, launched the season under the best auspices.Sunday's program was unforgiving, with two Beethoven quartets, Opus 18 no. 4 and Opus 127, and Korngold's 3rd Quartet. The Calidore Quartet is certainly among the ensembles most likely to serve up unforgettable experiences. From the outset, in Opus 18 no. 4, we are struck by a form of sonic sweetness. The Calidores are not those who will physically fight with music, but rather play with it." & On Korngold: "Coming from Hollywood, the Calidore Quartet magnificently played the (serious) setting and this duality of the in-between worlds."

Classical Music

BBC Music Magazine’s names Calidore Quartet’s Late Beethoven release its category's winner in the magazine's annual awards.

"Winners of this year’s Chamber Award, meanwhile, were the New York-based Calidore String Quartet, with their superb recordings of Beethoven’s Late Quartets. ‘The Calidore players penetrate right to the heart of the music, giving warm and intensely lyrical accounts,’ noted our review."

Classical Music

This first volume of Beethoven quartets from the New York-based Calidores takes in the composer’s life-affirming late set, and it was delivered here with great precision, clarity and meticulous attention to detail. ‘The Calidore players penetrate right to the heart of the music, giving warm and intensely lyrical accounts,’ said our original review.

Strings

The Calidore Quartet was fortunate to have made this recording with Judith Sherman, a Grammy Award–winning producer who has recorded the Cleveland, Kronos, and Alexander quartets, among many others.

The Strad

Peter Quantrill hears from the Calidore Quartet about how Beethoven involves intense preparation and a sense of ‘leaning into the weird’

Your Classical

Sometimes the best way to tell a story is to start at the end. That way your destination is clear. That’s what the Calidore String Quartet decided to do when recording all of Beethoven’s String Quartets during the pandemic and recently releasing their first 3-CD set, Beethoven: The Late Quartets.

Classical Music

BBC Music Magazine’s latest issue reviewed the Calidore Quartet’s Late Beethoven release, giving it the highest possible rating of five stars for both performance and recording quality.

“The New York- based Calidore Quartet gives meticulously detailed performances of Beethoven’s late string quartets, with playing of quite remarkable technical accomplishment. I’m note sure, for instance, that I’ve ever heard the tremendously challenging Op. 133 Fugue (the original finale of the Quartet Op. 130) done with greater precision and clarity, and it makes for quite overwhelming experience... The players have clearly thought long and hard about these masterpieces of the string quartet repertoire, and they have produced performances that can stand comparison with the best.”

Washington Classical Review

The Calidore String Quartet, since their remarkable Kennedy Center debut in 2018, has laid down a track record of sterling performances.

WETA

The pandemic reaffirmed our commitment to live performance by emphasizing that is an exchange of energy that is essential for music making. Furthermore, we continue to hold a profound sense of gratitude to inhabit the sacred space of performance with a live audience.

Los Angeles Times

The Calidore, now based in New York, just released a recording of Beethoven’s late string quartets on Signum Records. The world may not need another set of these monuments to chamber music, but they are boldly recorded here, played with remarkable depth, yet another example of astonishingly life-affirming music making.

Calgary Herald

It has now developed its own unique sound and personality. Different from other North American quartets, the Calidore String Quartet has a more intimate, less extroverted personality. While all members of the group are highly accomplished, this individual accomplishment is not foregrounded or flaunted. Rather, the emphasis in the playing is on a refined balance among the instruments, on warmth of tone, on gentleness, and unfailing poise.

Los Angeles Times

The essence of the Calidore is just how centered it is. It does not give the impression of risk-taking but risk-absorbing. The quartet’s cellist, Estelle Choi, anchors herself as though she has roots extending under the stage. Her tone is rich, deep and powerful, giving the impression that music and the room are a single living being. She is unflappable but not obvious. When Beethoven erupts, as he does in the Presto movement in the middle Opus 131, her cello mimics the absurdity of unexpected delight, the portents of a godlike laughter beyond our means of understanding.

Gramophone

The justly acclaimed Calidore Quartet returned to the Phillips Collection for the local premiere of Caroline Shaw’s Three Essays, co-commissioned by the Phillips. This three movement meditation on the variety of human communication held the audience rapt. The Essays were framed by a stylish late Haydn quartet and Schumann’s Third Quartet in a loving, emotionally cohesive performance.

The Violin Channel

The New York-based Calidore String Quartet has in recent years firmly established themselves as one of the most celebrated young chamber ensembles to emerge internationally – praised for their “confidence

Gramophone

The recorded sound is translucent and upfront but the individual players repeatedly find a sweetness of expression

NY Times

The Calidore players performed it with synergistic brilliance and ferocious commitment...

New York Times

The excellent Calidore String quartet…brought rich sound and articulate grace to the piece..

NY Times

In a scene crowded with excellent young ensembles, the Calidore String Quartet can assert itself with pride.

New York Classical Review

The Calidore String Quartet—Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violins, Jeremy Berry, viola, and Estelle Choi, cello—demonstrated its splendidly matched tone, sounding like a single instrument instead of four.

LA Times

That is to say that the Calidores were remarkable for the precision of their expression, their understated but relentless intensity…In short, the Calidores balanced intellect and expression in such a way as to make them a pleasure to hear all afternoon. Keep your ears out for these young musicians.

Strings Magazine

2016 has been a rather remarkable year for the Calidore String Quartet. After being awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship

Carnegie Hall

The second half featured Felix Mendelssohn’s F minor Quartet, written in the composer’s grief for the death of his sister Fanny. The Calidore Quartet put their shoulders into the meaning of the composer’s psychological crisis, with the instruments crying, sobbing or else wandering numbly from key to key as if in shock. This was a powerful performance, with the players putting themselves deep into the psychology of the work.

San Jose Mercury News

But the Calidore String Quartet may prove the hottest of this year’s attractions…In their Bay Area debut on Friday’s program, it was easy to see what the fuss is about.

Cleveland Classical

From start to finish, violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry, and cellist Estelle Choi proved themselves worthy of every accolade that has been bestowed upon them.

The Scotsman

This is an ensemble as capable of whipping up storms as enchanting us with breathless moments of utter magic

Super Conductor

The second half featured Felix Mendelssohn’s F minor Quartet, written in the composer’s grief for the death of his sister Fanny. The Calidore Quartet put their shoulders …

Ottawa Citizen

“…fiercely talented…” “…a harmonious meeting of young and gifted musical minds.”

Gramophone

Calidore players are the epitome of confidence and finesse.

Gramophone

The justly acclaimed Calidore Quartet returned to the Phillips Collection for the local premiere of Caroline Shaw’s Three Essays, co-commissioned by the Phillips. This three movement meditation on the variety of human communication held the audience rapt. The Essays were framed by a stylish late Haydn quartet and Schumann’s Third Quartet in a loving, emotionally cohesive performance.