For Guggenheim Fellow composer Elena Ruehr the appeal of the string quartet lies in the ability of four instruments to express an infinite range of emotional possibilities, to communicate across time. Her six string quartets attest to her enthusiasm for musical time-travel: echoes of Perotin, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, Schoenberg and jazz are there, but the musical language is purely her own. Elena’s Six String Quartets are a magnum opus, three of them commissioned by the Cypress String Quartet, two by the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, and one an ASCAP Award winner. “…sumptuously scored and full of soaring melodies and piquant harmonies.” (The New York Times) “Music with heart and a forceful sense of character and expression.” (The Washington Post)

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REVIEW:

The structure of each quartet is unique to itself, having little in common with the conventional form, even when nominally in the four movements of classical design. There is a tangible community of spirit in these six works, even with the more notionally abstract Fourth (2005) and Sixth (2012). Stephen Salters, something of a Ruehr specialist, is in fine — occasionally falsetto — voice, nimbly accompanied by the Borromeo Quartet. The Cypress Quartet, for whom Nos 4–6 were written, play the remainder with authority and complete assurance. Avie’s sound—mastered by Mark Wilsher—is beautifully clear.

– Gramophone