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Quadrants
Marie Incontrera composer
Michael Cunningham composer
Alan Beeler composer
Ulf Grahn composer
Virgil Thomson composer
Boston String Quartet | Christopher Vuk violin
Angel Valchinov violin; Chen Lin viola; Christina Stripling cello
New England String Quartet | Julia Okrusko violin
Konstantin Rybakov violin; Lilit Muradyan viola; Ming-Hui Lin cello
Moravian Philharmonic Chamber Players | Vit Muzik conductor; Ludmila Bubenickova cello; Jiri Navratil cello; Jaroslava Petrova cello; David Kostrhon cello
Boston Composers String Quartet | Clayton Hoener violin; Sue Rabut-Cartwright violin; Scott Woolweaver viola; Nathaniel Parke cello
With QUADRANTS, Navona presents a collection of modern string quartets that meld the old with the new, combining traditional forms with contemporary influences to present expressive, emotional works that both make and break the mold. QUADRANTS features the contemporary works of Marie Incontrera, Michael Cunningham, Alan Beeler, Ulf Grahn, and Virgil Thomson performed by the Boston String Quartet, the New England String Quartet, the Moravian Philharmonic Chamber Players, and the Boston Composers String Quartet.
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Artist Information
Marie Incontrera
Marie Incontrera (b. 1985) is a wayward ballerina and heavy metal pianist who writes music in Brooklyn, New York. She has been a recipient of the Miriam Gideon Composition Award for women composers, a winner of the Remarkable Theater Brigade Art Song Competition, a 2010 and 2011 recipient of the ASCAPlus award, a winner of the 2011 Vocalessence/American Composers Forum "Essentially Choral" readings, and was a finalist in the Iron Composer 2010 competition.
Michael G. Cunningham
A great artist can manifest answers to otherwise perplexing aspects of our world through their craft and help us find understanding. Composer, author, and long-time PARMA artist Michael G. Cunningham (1937-2022) was the embodiment of this truth, a prolific artist whose timeless body of work will resonate for years to come. From symphonies and other orchestral works to piano pieces, art songs, opera, choral compositions, and works for jazz ensembles spanning 11 Navona Records releases, Cunningham showed an unwavering dedication to sharing his music with the world. Upon receiving his doctorate from Indiana University, Cunningham embarked on an artistic journey that would lead him to write over 250 musical compositions spanning multiple genres, pedagogical music books, and more.
Alan Beeler
Charles Alan Beeler (February 10, 1939 - April 28, 2016) Beeler completed his graduate study in theory and composition at Washington University, where he received an M.A. and Ph.D. He studied composition with Robert Wykes, Robert Baker, and Harold Blumenfeld, theory with Leigh Gerdine, and musicology with Lincoln Bunce Spiess and Paul Amadeus Pisk.
Ulf Grahn
Ulf Grahn (b. 1942) studied composition with Hans Eklund, Violin and Viola with Rudolf Forsberg and Piano with Herbert Westrell. He holds degrees from Stockholm's Musikpedagogiska Institut and the Catholic University of America. He has also studied Business Administration, Economics and Development Studies at The Universities of Lund andUppsala, Sweden. In 1973 he founded the Contemporary Music Forum, in Washington, D.C. and served as its Program Director until 1984.
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was born in Kansas City MO in 1896 in what was then still an agricultural society. Early years in the Midwest exposed him to the folk music, hymn tunes and popular songs that would figure so prominently in his compositions.
Vít Muzík
Czech violinist and producer Vít Muzík (b. 1972) is one of the most multifaceted musicians working on the contemporary classical music scene. His abilities both as a performer on the concert stage and in the recording booth have led to appearances on more than 60 recordings in the Navona and Ravello catalogs, making him one of PARMA Recordings' most frequent collaborators.
