New Music on the Cutting Edge

Reviews

“Argento Chamber Ensemble...[is] providing a real service to new-music lovers in New York City, by exposing works that might otherwise go unperformed…”

     – Steve Smith, Night After Night

“Their technical polish lets them move easily through the rhythmic and harmonic thickets of the contemporary styles that are their specialty, but they also bring to their performances the kind of unsettled, restless energy that seems a special province of the young. Michel Galante, the group's conductor, is able to transform these warring qualities into readings that make even relatively static pieces sound dynamic and charged.”

     – Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

“The [Argento Chamber Ensemble's] performance succeeded in every way that really matters. It seized the moment and persuaded one that if Kilkenny Arts Festival wanted to end at the top, it could not get much higher than this.”

     – Martin Adams, The Irish Times

“Argento deserve commendation for delivering a CD that matches fine performance with fine recording and mixing. Murail's works live in the details, and Argento have rendered them richly.”

     – Lanier Sammons, Sequenza 21

“[The Argento Chamber Ensemble's] thrillingly gritty, acid-tinged account of Schoenberg's early Chamber Symphony No. 1 caught Expressionism in full flower.”

     – Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

“It renders [the works] not merely approachable but positively delectable through its mix of technical command and urgent advocacy.…an exceptionally rich, detailed recording.”

     – Steve Smith, The New York Times