Viano Quartet
Viano Quartet Releases Debut Recording “Portraits” on Curtis Studio
The 2023 Curtis graduates present four works by Franz Schubert, Florence Price, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Alberto Ginastera
“I think the process of self-discovery is really just beginning. We called the project PORTRAITS as a reflection of the music we love and our growth at Curtis, but if there’s something we’ve realized over the last two years, it’s that our portraits will be developing and growing even after we graduate.” —Hao Zhou, Viano Quartet
As a final artistic statement of their time at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Viano Quartet, the Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet Program participants from 2021 to 2023, has released their debut recording, an exciting audiovisual project entitled PORTRAITS, through Curtis Studio, the recording label of the Curtis Institute of Music.
PORTRAITS is available to stream on all major music platforms. Listen Now.
Thoughtfully curated, created, and originated by the members of the quartet—violinists Lucy Wang and Hao Zhou, violist Aiden Kane, and cellist Tate Zawadiuk, all 2023 Curtis graduates—in collaboration with the school’s cutting-edge Performance Innovation Lab, the recording offers an intimate view of the string quartet and invites listeners to join the four young artists on an intensely personal and emotional journey.
On Apple Music Classical, PORTRAITS includes companion video performances of each work, allowing viewers to witness the ensemble’s energy and enthusiasm as they bring this music to life. Shot in close-up, each video offers an extraordinarily intimate cinematic experience for viewers, inviting the audience to join each artist on an intensely emotional journey. This unique playlist captures the heightened passion, dramatic depth, and richly hued sound palette of four iconic works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
PORTRAITS includes two movements of Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”); Florence Price’s Andante moderato from String Quartet No. 1 in G major; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Andante cantabile from String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11; and the first movement of Alberto Ginastera’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 27, Allegro violento ed agitato. As the Viano Quartet reflects on its time at Curtis and concludes its residency to join the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program, this thoughtfully curated collection serves as a historical multimedia document of the ensemble’s experience at the school and a fascinating “portrait” of one of the most sought-after contemporary quartets in classical music.