Listen to the recording (fragment).
Kuanasi Uato I by Edgar Barroso performed by Argento Ensemble at Harvard University – 2012 by edgarbarroso-4
The Argento Chamber Ensemble is the performance arm of the Argento New Music Project. Consisting of nine dedicated members, the ensemble regularly expands to perform and record chamber orchestra works of up to 30 musicians, and has established a reputation for delivering unforgettable performances.
Argento spearheaded Lunar Movements in 2010, and again in 2012, series of weekend concerts exploring modes of musical écriture that stem from Schoenberg’s 1912 Pierrot Lunaire. The Ensemble has toured widely in the US and abroad in festivals including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the International Festival of Spectral Music in Istanbul, Turkey, the American Festival of Microtonal Music in New York, Sounds French Festival in New York, The Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland, and the International Festival of Electro-acoustic music, Shanghai. Tours to Asia and the Middle East included collaborations with non-Western musicians such as singer Kani Karaça.
The group has worked closely with leading composers such as Pierre Boulez, Tania Leon, Tristan Murail, Elliott Carter, Philippe Hurel, Gerard Pesson, Joshua Fineberg, and Philippe Leroux, and has collaborated with younger emerging composers internationally and at leading universities such as Columbia, Princeton, and Stonybrook.
The Ensemble’s first recording, featuring the music of Tristan Murail, was released in January of 2007 on the AEON label. The recording immediately received critical acclaim worldwide, and won the 2010 Record Geijutsu Record Academy Award for the new music category. Recording of Philippe Hurel’s Quatre Variations was released in 2009 on the Harmonia Mundi label, and recording of works by Alexandre Lunsqui is slated for release in the near future. The ensemble has also recorded surround sound installation works, and has produced a complete video and audio recording of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire for online education.
Argento’s reputation has been the result of its long history as a chamber ensemble since 2000, demanding technical preparation, and a probing interpretive commitment to the music. Independent of commercial endeavors, the Ensemble relies on the hard work of its musicians, board members, and your generous support.
