In a smart and perhaps cynical bid for relevancy, the Jasper String Quartet, formed at Oberlin, has begun “The Kernis Project,” pairing repertory…with works by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” is a bit sterile for a work so infused with love and death, but the Kernis, his animated and melodic String Quartet No. 1 (“Musica Celestis”) is impassioned and dialed in—and each work benefits from the presence of the other, which is what good programming always aspires to. © 2012 ArvikMusic Read complete review

Aaron Jay Kernis’s String Quartet No 1 is like music heard in dreams long ago and now suddenly remembered, and loved, and deeply missed. The 15-minute first movement, ‘Flowing’, dominates the piece; after a careening journey through richly harmonic, tonal but absorbingly unpredictable landscapes, the following movements fall as if in a trance under its dizzying fantasy. The third movement, a Scherzo, dances with the brilliance of a young Benjamin Britten, rich with strummed pizzicato chords.

The Jasper Quartet, in common with their young Canadian colleagues Cecilia and Afiara, share an extreme sensitivity to the way composers layer sound and use harmony to affect the listener’s soul; the very different make-up of their personalities makes their musical journeys each completely individual. Their Schubert works very well in this cool hip way; the absence of portamento becomes a strength when you also fall under the Jasper’s spell. The theme-and-variations second movement is bittersweet and passionately phrased; you can feel the heat on the Jaspers’ necks at the end of the Presto. © 2012 Gramophone Read complete review on Gramophone

The Jasper String Quartet, originally formed at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, has released several albums under a “Kernis Project” rubric, pairing works by Aaron Jay Kernis with established repertory pieces. It would be interesting to learn exactly how the project came about, and to what extent it was undertaken specifically to promote the Pulitzer Prize-winning Kernis. On top of this, the Jasper’s Schubert String Quartet in D minor, D. 810 (“Death and the Maiden”), a flowing reading with forward motion rather than dramatic gestures, is worth your time whether you like Kernis or not. An intriguing item from the new Sono Luminus label, which has inherited generally high engineering standards from its predecessor, Dorian. © 2012 Allmusic.com Read complete review