Press & Reviews

From Our November 2022 Tour

A handful of accomplished young musicians joined by select (senior artists) presented a satisfying and diverse program at Carnegie Hall as part of the Musicians from Marlboro 2022–23 tour. —The Strad (Online)

From Our March 2018 Tour

Known as the birthplace of several transformative ensembles like the Emerson String Quartet, Cleveland String Quartet, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, TASHI, and NEXUS, Marlboro Music Festival is quite different from most of its summer counterparts. Rather than bolstering structured curriculum with faculty, Marlboro mixes advanced musicians of all career stages to enhance and strengthen collaborative skills. Musicians from Marlboro’s March tour came to a close at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Calderwood Hall on Sunday afternoon with fiery takes on Boccherini, Bartók, and Ravel that also showcased humor, expansivity, and refinement.

The afternoon brought together artists from all different stages of their careers — violinists Alexi Kenney and Tessa Lark both recently received Avery Fisher Career Grants. Pianist Zoltán Fejérvári won the 2017 Montreal International Musical Competition. Cellist Isang Enders co-founded the Gohrisch Shostakovich Festival. Cellist Christoph Richter was a member of the Cherubini String Quartet before becoming principal cellist of his chamber orchestra, Cappella Andrea Barca. Violist Kim Kashkashian is a Grammy-winning musician who was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016. Together, these artists are equals. —The Boston Musical Intelligencer (Online)

From Our January 2017 Tour

“One could admire, in Phan’s performance, the variety of shadings in his voice, the naturalness of his phrasing, and the evenness of his vocal range. But that was all secondary to the sheer intensity with which he inflected every word. It was there in the fragile, whispered opening of “From far, from eve and morning” and in the torrent of anguish in “Is my team ploughing” and “Bredon Hill.” Even when the mood lightened, there was no moment where you did not feel the sheer force of Phan’s projection.

He was, in an odd way, almost as impressive in a selection of five of Beethoven’s settings of Irish folk songs for voice and piano trio. These are not Beethoven’s most distinguished creations, and the rather banal texts suffer in comparison to Housman’s. But there was no less depth in Phan’s artistic investment, and he made the stories these songs told compelling and poignant. Lydia Brown was the masterful pianist in both works.” —The Boston Globe (Online)

From Our 2016 National Tour

“The Berg, while challenging to some was marvelous and (violinist) Itamar Zorman’s words before they played set things up beautifully for listener appreciation. Dvořák was divine.” —the Former Programming Chair of the Denver Friends of Chamber Music

“I doubt I will ever hear a better performance of the Lyric Suite – it was fantastic, as was the Haydn… that playing was sublime.” —a Bay Area presenter after the performance in Berkeley

From Our October 2015 Tour

“Passionate, detailed music-making is a hallmark of Marlboro performances, traits evident in the interpretation of Mozart’s String Quintet in E-flat (K. 614) that opened the program. The musicians played with a rich, full-blooded sound and infused the piece, one of Mozart’s last chamber works, with nuance and spontaneity.” —The New York Times (Online)

From Our May 2015 Tour

“Subtle articulation, hand-in-glove ensemble and artful interplay between horns and strings created a sunny, irresistible cheerfulness.” —The Washington Post (Online)

From Our February 2015 Tour

“These consummate musicians artfully employed the spectral appearance of otherwise hidden connotations to achieve a postmodern surrealism which, rather than disturbing the composers’ intentions, added to the interest and intrigue of the works.” —Broad Street Review (Online)

From Our October 2014 Tour

“What, exactly, are they putting in the water at the Marlboro Music Festival? Not only is the virtuosity of ‘Musicians from Marlboro’…. consistently jaw-dropping, but the freshness, rich imagination and sheer vitality of their playing is enough to make even the most jaded concertgoer edge to the front of his seat.” —The Washington Post (Online)

“The music making was exuberant and charismatic…” —The New York Times (Online)

From Our October 2013 Tour

“A spectacular chamber concert by Musicians from Marlboro, presented by Cal Performances on Saturday at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church, made a gleaming case in point. The program of three front-and-center masterworks — Mozart’s String Quintet, K. 614; Kodály’s Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12; and Schumann’s Piano Quintet, Op. 44 — offered clear proof that remarkable things come from mixing established artists with gifted newcomers in the Vermont countryside.” —San Francisco Classical Voice (Online)

From Our October 2012 Tour

“Thursday night’s concert by Musicians from Marlboro at the Freer Gallery opened with a performance of Haydn’s String Quartet in A, Op. 55, No. 1 that was so fresh and full-blooded, so full of earthy vitality and sheer sensual pleasure, that it made you happy to be alive.” —The Washington Post (Online)

“…exactly the type of concert which the classical scene needs more of.” —The Boston Musical Intelligencer (Online)

From Previous Tours

“Impeccable ensemble work, unbridled energy and boatloads of virtuosity produced an electrifying performance.” —The Washington Post (PDF)

“Astoundingly gifted virtuosos…performances that radiate vitality and freshness. Playing of daring, conviction and real insight.” —The Washington Post (PDF)

“But the unquestionable highlight of the afternoon was an edge-of-the-seat rendition of Mendelssohn’s celebrated Octet. The violinist Scott St. John, who appeared on viola earlier in the program, dispatched the first fiddle part with a lean yet muscular tone and a soloist’s panache. But it was the entire ensemble’s energy and collective virtuosity in the brilliant outer movements that proved irresistible. One little secret about this work is that, in addition to being an audience favorite, it is also ridiculously fun to play. Sunday’s performance served up a generous portion of that joy.” —The Boston Globe  (Online)

“…the large crowd was able to sit back and bask in the exceptional music making…the musicians were well matched and played with clear tones that etched the lines with precision and vivacity.” —Daily Gazette, Schenectady (Online)

“Violinists Miho Saegusa and Jessica Lee, violist Mark Holloway, and cellist Na-Young Baek gave the most powerful and appropriately insane performance of Janacek’s “Kreutzer Sonata” String Quartet that I’ve ever heard, and these four musicians plus violinists Scott St John and Yonah Zur, violist Maiya Papach, and cellist Susan Babini also gave one of the most fleet but intense accounts in my experience of Mendelssohn’s youthful Octet.” —Harvey Sachs (Online)