«What is immediately noticeable is the inventiveness of the composers, the high standard of musicianship and Sarah Roper’s wonderful playing, with a rich yet sweet sound which is warm and expressive throughout…..Whilst oboe quartets are hardly a new form, the works presented here feel fresh and modern, with three of the composers very successfully incorporating an extra element in the form of electronics, a handbell or voice. None of these additions dominate their works, they simply give each piece a clear identity without distracting from or dominating the quartet’s basic sound. All of the compositions are highly accessible and flow very well, one to the other as presented to the listener on the album» Mark Baigent. Double Reed News. Summer 2024, Issue 138.
«Contemporary music for the oboe quartet embraces a wide variety of styles and this release reflects those varieties even so far as to include discreet electronica. … Cuarteto Emispherio…plays with stylish commitment throughout in works composed during 2022-23…If you fancy something new for this combination, you should know that this Spanish-centred selection is very finely played and recorded.» Jonathan Woolf. MusicWeb International,April 2024
«Cuarteto Emispherio, with a very good recording sound, offers intense versions of the works accompanied by beautiful and varied colours and virtuoso technique. Although it is true that this album is very different from recordings of existing traditional repertoire, its value lies precisely in the care for diversity that we must strive for«. Jerónimo Marín. Revista Ritmo, Marzo, 2024
“Cuarteto Emispherio has marked a milestone in the history of chamber music for oboe and strings. The album is a fantastic and inspiring achievement and absolutely a “must” to listen to!” Salvador Barberá, Solo Oboe, Symphony Orchestra of the Spanish Radio and Television (RTVE).
“If you think of an Oboe and String Trio disc as being courtly classical and then some nice ditties THINK AGAIN! This disc blows all that out of the water with a hugely diverse set of composers writing in many different styles, played with absolute authority, commitment and technical mastery. I can’t recommend it strongly enough and I congratulate Cuarteto EMISPHERIO and their superb Oboist Sarah Roper most warmly.” Nicholas Daniel OBE, Oboist and conductor.
“Sarah Roper sounds gorgeous in these five new oboe quartets, displaying a huge range from expressive and speech-like, buoyant and flowing to angular, rhythmic, jagged, and acrobatic. Her sound is pleasing in every guise. The five works are varied too: at times searching and nostalgic, often rhythmic, eerie, and terrifying. The commissioning project is a great success.” Elaine Douvas, Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera and oboe instructor at The Juilliard School.
«Cuarteto Emispherio has created one of the most important recordings of recent years. With Interconexiones we are treated to five incredible new works performed to the very highest standards. The breadth and quality of the new music is absolutely first rate and I’d recommend it in a heartbeat!” James Turnbull, Oboist and founder of the New Oboe Music Project.
Interconexiones: New Quartets for Oboe and Strings
Althea Talbot-Howard (1966). Seville Cathedral, A Study in Memory – in Arch Form. A Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and String Trio with Aluphone Handbell (2022)*
Pilar Miralles (1997). Anti-Philosophy of the Subject – Mankind’s Origin Is in Its Fellows (2022)*
Luke Styles (1982). Capturing Anthems (2022)*
I. Sang. Watched. Waited
II. Ghosts May Be Heard
Maricarmen Asenjo-Marrodán (1978). Uncertain Paths for oboe, violin, viola, cello and electronics (2023)*
I. Reminiscencias: Interconexiones
II. Material Inflamable **
John Richard Durant (1960) Mosaicos (2022)*
I. El Laberinto
II. Sosus of Pergamon
III. Casa Batlló
IV. Pan
V. Zellij
* World Premiere, March 2023 in Sevilla, Spain **II. Material Inflamable – World premiere, April 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
The project «Interconexiones: New Quartets for Oboe and Strings» consists of commissions and premieres of five new quartets for oboe and strings. Two quartets are written by Spanish composers; Maricarmen Asenjo-Marrodán (1978, Seville, Spain ) and Pilar Miralles (1997, Almeria, Spain, based in Helsinki) and the remaining three works are written by composers; John Richard Durant (1960, UK, based in Seville), Luke Styles (1982, Australia, based in London) and Althea Talbot-Howard (1966, Nigeria, grew up in Australia and based in London).
«Interconexiones: New Quartets for Oboe and Strings» was premiered by the Cuarteto Emispherio during the 2022-2023 ROSS chamber music cycle: XXXIII Ciclo de Música de Cámara on Sunday March 5, 2023 at the “Espacio Turina” concert hall.
The USA premiere of «Interconexiones» was performed by oboist Lindsay Flowers and her colleagues: Dawn Dongeun Wohn, violin, Katrin Talbot, viola, James Waldo, cello on Saturday April 29, 2023 at 19:30 in Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
On March 23, 2024 the UK premieres of the «Interconexiones» works (some complete and others were separate movements) were performed during the British Double Reed Day at the Royal Welsh College for Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, by RWCMD oboe and string students and professors.
CUARTETO EMISPHERIO 