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Lees, B.: String Quartets Nos. 1, 5 and 6

1/28/2010, 11 Tracks, 1:01:54

Featuring

  • Cecily Ward
  • Tom Stone
  • Ethan Filner
  • Jennifer Kloetzel
  • Cypress String Quartet
  • Benjamin Lees

Did you know?

1/7

Critical Reception

A music critic for The New Yorker Magazine praised Benjamin Lees's String Quartet No. 1 as 'very well-knit,' 'quite fresh and original in style,' and 'beautifully written for the instruments.'

Source: Booklet

Composer Biography

Benjamin Lees (b. 1924) spent his early years in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and later taught at prestigious institutions like the Peabody Conservatory and The Juilliard School.

Source: Booklet

Composer Biography

Benjamin Lees received Grammy nominations for his Symphony No. 5 in 2004 and his Violin Concerto in 2008.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

For his String Quartet No. 5, Benjamin Lees drew inspiration from the unexpected twists and turns of Shostakovich and the refined harmonic sense of Britten.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Benjamin Lees's String Quartet No. 1 received the first Fromm Foundation Award and was premiered in New York by the legendary Budapest String Quartet.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Benjamin Lees's String Quartet No. 5 was commissioned by the Cypress String Quartet as part of their 'Call & Response' series, where composers are inspired by two older works.

Source: Booklet

Composer Biography

Benjamin Lees has received numerous honors, including two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Sir Arnold Bax Medal, and was the first recipient of the Fromm Foundation Award in 1952.

Source: Booklet

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Michael Nyman: String Quartets Nos.1-3
Ropartz, J.-G.: String Quartets Nos. 4-6
Bohuslav Martinů: String Quartets Nos. 1, 3 & 6
Nyman: String Quartets Nos.1-3
Gianneo: Complete Works for String Quartet, Vol. 1
Bloch: String Quartets
Hába: Complete String Quartets
Thieriot: Chamber Music, Vol. 4
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 5
Ropartz, J.-G.: String Quartets Nos. 2 and 3
Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 9 "King Lear" & String Quartet No. 8
Lees: String Quartet No. 1 - Denny: String Quartet No. 2 (Remastered)
Mennin: String Quartet No. 2 - Imbrie: String Quartet in B-Flat Major
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