Please press the play button above to hear the recorded interview, which was recently broadcast on KMFA 89.5.  

The Chiara Quartet has been performing and recording together for sixteen years. Initially, they were noted for, among other things, self-producing recordings on their own New Voice Singles label. Having worked with Azica Records for the past two years, their sixth commercial album is devoted to all six of the string quartets by Bela Bartok. To record these works represent a milestone in the career of any ensemble, but the Chiara Quartet have gone a step farther. As with all of the music they have performed and recorded over the last few years, they play all their music from memory, or “by heart.”

Violinist  Hyeyung Julie Yoon, violist Jonah Sirota, and cellist Gregory Beaver recently spoke with KMFA’s Chris Johnson about this gargantuan undertaking.