Aizuri Quartet

Emma Frucht and Miho Saegusa (violins)
Brian Hong (viola) ∙ Caleb van der Swaagh (cello)

The Aizuri Quartet has established a unique position within today’s musical landscape, infusing its music-making with infectious energy, joy, and warmth. The ensemble cultivates curiosity in listeners and invites audiences into the concert experience through its innovative programming and the depth and fire of its performances. Their programs meld music and storytelling with a fresh thematic perspective, exploring the dialogues between beloved works of the string quartet canon and lesser known gems ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The Quartet's debut album, Blueprinting, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award, and named one of NPR Music’s Best Classical Albums of 2018. Aizuri’s follow-up album, Earthdrawn Skies, was released in 2023 and praised by NPR as an album that “convincingly connects the dots in wildly diverse music stretching over eight centuries…arousing solemn contemplation, cosmic curiosity, folksy delight and introspective scrutiny.”

Aizuri Quartet have commissioned, premiered and recorded works by today’s most in-demand chamber music composers including Caroline Shaw, Gabriella Smith, Lembit Beecher, and Paul Wiancko.

“In a word, stunning” —I Care If You Listen

Latest videos

Program: Resilience and Release

Reena Esmail
Zeher (Poison) (2013)

Benjamin Britten
String Quartet No. 2 in C, Op. 36 (1945)

Trevor Weston
Juba (2017)

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135 (1826)


Program: Music and Migration
With Kinan Azmeh, clarinet

Rhiannon Giddens
At the Purchaser’s Option

Layale Chaker
Matrescence

(commissioned by Chamber Music America & The Mellon Foundation)

Kinan Azmeh
The Fence, the Rooftop, and the Distant Sea

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Paquito D’Rivera
Preludio y Merengue

Komitas Vartabed
Armenian Folk Songs

Wang Lu
Between Air

Michi Wiancko
Lullaby for the Transient

Program: The Art of Translation

David Lang
wed (1992)

Caroline Shaw
Valencia (2012)

Franz Schubert
An Die Musik (arr. Jannina Norpoth)

Harrison Birtwistle
XI. Todesfuge - Frieze 4 from 9 Movements for String Quartet (1991-96)

Misato Mochizuki
Boids (2018)

Franz Schubert
Nacht und Träume (arr. Jannina Norpoth)

Paul Wiancko
Purple Antelope Sound Squeeze (2021)

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Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, Death and the Maiden