A rising string quartet based in New York, the
Aizuri Quartet has impressed audiences with its technical prowess and expressive range, which are combined in its exciting programming of new works. The group formed in 2012, and took its name from "aizuri-e," a Japanese woodblock printing process that uses blue ink. The
Aizuri Quartet has been a quartet-in-residence at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute (2014), the Curtis Institute of Music (2014-16), the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (2015-16), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2017-18). The ensemble has performed across the United States and internationally, and has won prizes at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan, and the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Among the many works commissioned or premiered by the
Aizuri Quartet was
Caroline Shaw's Blueprint, which was performed on
Blueprinting, the group's debut album on New Amsterdam Records. The quartet has also performed works by
Lembit Beecher,
Paul Wiancko,
Yevgeniy Sharlat,
Gabriella Smith,
Rene Orth, and Alyssa Weinberg.