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Press Releases
July 25: Miró Quartet Releases New Album, Ginastera String Quartets, on PENTATONE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations
katy@primoartists.com | 646.801.9406
Sonia Kanigel | Primo Artists | Public Relations Manager
sonia@primoartists.com | 646.470.3812
New Album,
Ginastera String Quartets
In 30th Anniversary Season, GRAMMY®-Nominated
Quartet Draws on Decades of Live Performance
in Rare Recording Spanning Ginastera’s
Full Oeuvre for String Quartet
Soprano Kiera Duffy Featured on Ginastera’s
Classic String Quartet No. 3
Out July 25, 2025 on PENTATONE
Physical Review Copies Available Upon Request
Single Schedule:
June 27: Track 8 – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 – IV. “Libero e rapsodico”
July 11: Track 14 – String Quartet No. 3, Op. 40 – V. “Di nuovo contemplativo”
Pre-Order Ginastera String Quartets
“explosive vigor and technical finesse” – The New York Times
New York, NY (May 22, 2025) – On Friday, July 25, 2025, the two-time GRAMMY®-nominated Miró Quartet releases its newest album, Ginastera String Quartets, on PENTATONE. Celebrating 30 years as an ensemble in 2025, the Texas-based quartet brings its signature virtuosity to this recording of the Argentinian composer’s complete String Quartets, joined on his String Quartet No. 3, Op. 40, by soprano Kiera Duffy. Featured in Miró’s live performances since its early days as a quartet, these works represent for Miró a chance to celebrate repertoire from the Americas as a quintessentially American ensemble.
A master of vivid contrasts and emotional depth, Ginastera infused his three quartets with the spirit of Argentine folk traditions, bold modernist language, and a profound sense of expression. These works span the entirety of his creative development, tracing a fascinating journey across three distinct stylistic periods.
The first two quartets are considered undiscovered masterpieces, often performed live to great reception but rarely recorded in their entirety alongside the third. The vibrant rhythmic energy and folkloric colors of the first quartet, the introspective lyricism of the second, and the haunting intensity of the third each reflect Ginastera’s unique fusion of influences, drawing from composers including Bartók and Stravinsky to create a sound full of emotional rawness and evocative storytelling. Together, these quartets form a powerful cycle, showcasing Ginastera’s ability to create distinct narratives within each piece, while also intertwining to tell a larger, cohesive musical story.
This is the Miró Quartet’s third album on PENTATONE, following its recording of Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets (2019) and the GRAMMY®-nominated Home (2024). Miró has also independently released multiple celebrated recordings for a variety of global labels, earning a 2024 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Choral Performance for House of Belonging, created in collaboration with Austin-based choral group Conspirare.
Ginastera String Quartets Tracklist
Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) – String Quartet No. 1, Op. 20 (1948)
1. I. Allegro violento ed agitato [4:52]
2. II. Vivacissimo [3:42]
3. III. Calmo e poetico [7:36]
4. IV. Allegramente rústico [4:06]
Alberto Ginastera – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 (1968)
5. I. Allegro rústico [6:08]
6. II. Adagio angoscioso [6:21]
7. III. Presto magico [3:55]
8. IV. Libero e rapsodico [5:19]
9. V. Furioso [4:44]
Alberto Ginastera – String Quartet No. 3, Op. 40 (1973)
10. I. Contemplativo* [6:59]
(text by Juan Ramón Jiménez)
11. II. Fantastico [4:34]
12. III. Amoroso* [6:20]
(text by Federico García Lorca)
13. IV. Drammatico* [2:52]
(text by Rafael Alberti)
14. V. Di nuovo contemplativo* [4:39]
(text by Juan Ramón Jiménez)
Kiera Duffy, soprano
TT: 72:15
PTC 5187412
Ginastera String Quartets was recorded at KMFA 89.5, Austin’s Classical Music Radio Station, in Austin, TX, between December 2 and 7, 2024.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Executive producers – William Fedkenheuer, David & Amy Fulton
Recording & Session producer, Recording & Mastering engineer – Da-Hong Seetoo
Additional producers – Daniel Ching, Joshua Gindele & John Largess
Liner notes – John Largess
Photography – Dagny Piasecki
About Miró Quartet
The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated string quartets, praised as "furiously committed" by The New Yorker and recognized for its "exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity" by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. For nearly 30 years, the GRAMMY®-nominated quartet has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, TX, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music.
Miró Quartet’s recent and upcoming projects include a touring and recording project with pianist Lara Downes titled Here on Earth, featuring musical depictions of our planet, its evolution, and the lives of its inhabitants; the premiere of a new version of Kevin Puts’ Credo with the Naples Philharmonic; and collaborations with composers Steven Banks, Tamar-Kali, and Gabriel Kahane, as well as soprano Karen Slack.
Having independently released many celebrated recordings for a variety of global labels, the Miró Quartet was nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for its second album on PENTATONE, Home, featuring two new commissions by Kevin Puts and Caroline Shaw, as well as works by George Walker and Samuel Barber. It was nominated for a 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Choral Performance for House of Belonging, created in collaboration with Austin-based choral group Conspirare. The quartet recently produced an Emmy Award-winning audiovisual multimedia project titled Transcendence, a documentary centered around a performance of Franz Schubert’s Quartet in G Major on rare Stradivarius instruments, available on livestream, CD, and Blu-ray.
Formed in 1995, the Miró Quartet was awarded first prize at several national and international competitions including the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. Deeply committed to music education, members of the Quartet have given master classes at universities and conservatories throughout the world, and since 2003 has served as the quartet-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. In 2005, the Quartet became the first ensemble ever to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant.
The Miró Quartet took its name and its inspiration from the Spanish artist Joan Miró, whose Surrealist works — with subject matter drawn from the realm of memory, dreams, and imaginative fantasy — are some of the most groundbreaking, influential, and admired of the 20th century. Visit miroquartet.com for more information.
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