Home in Bloomington, MN

The
Miró Quartet
, having completed a cycle of
Beethoven's string quartets
, has earned the right to a freer program, and it delivers one on this 2024 album that includes two fine new works. Both
Kevin Puts
'
Home
and
Caroline Shaw
's
Microfictions [volume 1]
were commissioned by the quartet, and both should be national and international news. They are framed by classic American works of a lyrical cast, not only
Samuel Barber
Adagio for strings
(heard in the context of the entire
String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11
) and the Molto adagio from
George Walker
String Quartet No. 1
, but also a dense, rich arrangement of
Harold Arlen
Over the Rainbow
for string quartet. The real find here is
Shaw
's work, consisting of six short movements that are each prefaced by a brief poem to which the music refers. This can be difficult to pull off, given the inherent slipperiness of music-text relationships, but most listeners will find the connections here sharp and persuasive.
Puts
' work evoked the plight of Syrian refugees when it was completed in 2019 but has certainly lost none of its relevance in the intervening five years. A strong release with some exciting new American music. ~ James Manheim