Ying Quartet
One of the many distinctions of the Ying Quartet is the fact that its members are siblings; the group consists of violinists Timothy and Janet, violist Phillip, and cellist David. The story of their establishment is also distinctive; the natives of Chicago were chosen in 1992 as participants in the Chamber Music America Rural Residency to spend two years in Jesup, IA, a farming community with a population of about 2,000. The Yings have broken with the expectations of the traditional string quartet, and like Kronos Quartet and Turtle Island String Quartet, have prominently included non-classical works in their repertoire. They have also collaborated with artists in a number of other disciplines, including film, dance, storytelling, martial arts, and poetry.
The success of the quartet's engagement with the community in Jesup brought it to the attention of the national media, and its high level of musicianship won it a 1993 Naumberg Chamber Music Award. Following the Jesup residency, the quartet went on to establish an international performing career. The Yings' collaborators have included Turtle Island String Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Menahem Pressler, Paul Katz, and Gilbert Kalish. Based on their experience in Iowa, they have sought out unconventional venues for their concerts, including libraries, hospitals, prisons, and museums. One of their most ambitious projects has been "No Boundaries," a series of concerts at New York's Symphony Space, in which their intention was to stretch conventional expectations of a classical music concert by involving a wide variety of artists in their performance. With assistance from the Institute for American Music, they have commissioned new works by Augusta Read Thomas, Ned Rorem, Carter Pann, Chen Yi, and Bernard Rands, among others.
The breadth of the Yings' musical interests is reflected in their recordings, which include works by Tchaikovsky, Lowell Liebermann, Michael Torke, and Osvaldo Golijov. In 2006, their CD of music by Oliver Nelson, Mark Summer, David Balakrishnan, Darius Milhaud, Evan Price, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon, made in collaboration with the Turtle Island String Quartet, was awarded a Grammy as Best Classical Crossover album.
The quartet is committed to education and has had residencies at Interlochen Music Festival, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, Northwestern University, and Harvard University, where it has been the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence since 2001. The Yings' primary teaching commitment has been as faculty members at the Eastman School of Music, where they also serve as Quartet-in-Residence.
In 2009, Timothy Ying left the quartet to pursue other ventures; Ayano Ninomiya became the group's first violinist in 2010.
© TiVo
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Discography
12 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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American Anthem
Ying Quartet, Randall Scarlata, Adam Neiman
Chamber Music - Released by Sono Luminus on Mar 4, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Three String Quartets & Sextet in D Minor "Souvenir de Florence"
Ying Quartet, James Dunham, Paul Katz, David Ying
Classical - Released by Telarc on Apr 2, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arensky: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 - Piano Quintet
Chamber Music - Released by Sono Luminus on Oct 4, 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
4 + Four
Turtle Island String Quartet, Ying Quartet
Classical - Released by Telarc on Feb 22, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: String Quartets
Chamber Music - Released by Sono Luminus on Nov 18, 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Re:Imagined
Chamber Music - Released by Sono Luminus on Aug 26, 2016
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Resonances
Charles Abramovic, Marcantonio Barone, Ying Quartet
Chamber Music - Released by Albany Records on Sep 1, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
LifeMusic
Chamber Music - Released by Quartz Music on Jan 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ying Quartet Plays Life Music, Vol. 3 (Sebastian Currier - Pierre Jalbert - Paul Moravec)
Classical - Released by Dorian Sono Luminus on Jul 27, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
United States – Life Music 2
Chamber Music - Released by Quartz Music on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
United States: LifeMusic2
Classical - Released by Quartz Music Ltd on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo