Aeolus Quartet

Isabelle Durrenberger & Rachel Shapiro, violins
Caitlin Lynch, viola
Jia Kim, cello

Praised for both “high-octane” excitement (Strad) and “dusky lyricism” (New York Times), the Aeolus Quartet is committed to presenting time-seasoned masterworks alongside cutting-edge new works with equal dedication and fervor. Mark Satola of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes, “The quartet has a rich and warm tone combined with precise ensemble playing … and an impressive musical intelligence guided every technical and dramatic turn.” Based in New York City, the Aeolus Quartet has performed at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Library of Congress, Alice Tully Hall, Severance Hall, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and venues across North America, Europe, and Asia. Their performances have ranged from Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series to unconventional spaces such as Dupont Underground, a subterranean streetcar station in Washington, DC. The Quartet was also featured in the Netflix miniseries The Defenders.

Recently praised by the Wall Street Journal for their “vibrant” collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Aeolus Quartet’s 2026–2027 season includes a co-commission with Tippet Rise Art Center, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, and Chamber Music Columbus for a new work by composer/cellist Karen Ouzounian, as well as appearances at Chamber Music Boise, Reading Friends of Chamber Music, and a residency at the Marlboro Music Festival. Previous seasons have included featured performances presented by Carnegie Hall Citywide at Madison Square Park, Chamber Music Detroit, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. The Quartet also serves as Artistic Directors of the Charles Wadsworth Piano Competition, an innovative competition emphasizing chamber music and equal access for all applicants.

Formed in 2008 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Aeolus Quartet has earned top prizes at the Coleman International Chamber Ensemble Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Plowman Chamber Music Competition, Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, and the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in New England. The Austin Critics’ Table named the Quartet’s collaboration with Spectrum Dance Theater, Rambunctious, the 2016–17 “Best Touring Performance.” The Aeolus Quartet held the position of Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School and is currently Quartet-in-Residence at Musica Viva NY.

Dedicated advocates for contemporary music, the Quartet has premiered works by Jonathan Bailey Holland and collaborated closely with composers including John Corigliano, Missy Mazzoli, Keeril Makan, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Timothy Mauthe, Alexandra T. Bryant, and Karen Ouzounian. Their recordings on the Naxos and Azica labels include the Many-Sided Music initiative, an ongoing project promoting works by American composers. Their album Ariel and Other Poems was released on Azica Records in 2021 and is available through major retailers and streaming platforms worldwide.

The Aeolus Quartet has collaborated with many of today’s leading artists, including Renée Fleming, Ida Kavafian, Joel Krosnick, Peter Wiley, Michael Tree, and Paul Neubauer. The Quartet is grateful for the mentorship of Peter Salaff, Donald Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, and Mark Steinberg, and has studied extensively with the Juilliard, Guarneri, St. Lawrence, Cavani, and Miró Quartets. Members hold degrees from the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Maryland, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Deeply committed to education and community engagement, the Aeolus Quartet has been recognized nationally for its innovative educational programming. The Quartet received Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership Grant and the distinguished “Guarneri Quartet Residency” title for projects involving performances and workshops at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts, the Sitar Arts Center, and George Washington University. They also received the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association’s Educator Award for their impact in underserved communities and the John Lad Prize for extensive residency and community engagement work at Stanford University. The Quartet has served on the faculty of Interlochen Center for the Arts, Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth, Austin Chamber Music Workshop, Point CounterPoint, and the Chloe Trevor Music Academy. Through collaborations with the University of Texas and Chamber Music Society of Detroit, the Quartet has reached thousands of students through performances and educational initiatives.

Thanks to the generosity of the Five Partners Foundation, the Aeolus Quartet performs on four instruments crafted by Brooklyn luthier Samuel Zygmuntowicz. Named for the Greek god Aeolus, ruler of the four winds, the Quartet draws inspiration from the idea of a single spirit uniting four individual forces in pursuit of a shared artistic vision.

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05/2026 - PLEASE DESTROY ALL PREVIOUSLY DATED MATERIALS.

MODIFIED VERSIONS MUST BE APPROVED BY DISPEKER ARTISTS.

January 2, 2025: Aeolus Quartet introduces Isabelle Durenberger

Congratulations to Aeolus Quartet for their appointment of Isabelle Durrenberger as first violinist of the ensemble as founding member Nicholas Tavani announces departure.    Nick and his wife Alexandra T Bryant (composer) have both accepted college teaching positions in South Florida.

 Durrenberger joins violinist Rachel Shapiro, violist Caitlin Lynch, and cellist Jia Kim in the Aeolus Quartet.

 The members of the Aeolus Quartet thank Tavani for 16 years of music-making, remarking “We send Nick off with infinite love and deep gratitude for the courageous vision and generous spirit he helped to instill in the quartet from the very beginning.  As a founding member of the quartet, his myriad contributions are truly immeasurable and will continue to resonate long after his departure. He is and always will be a treasured friend and member of the Aeolus family.”

 American violinist Isabelle Ai Durrenberger is praised for her imaginative, striking performances and her ability to communicate with sincere artistry.  Currently based in New York City, Isabelle is a 2023-25 fellow of Carnegie Hall’s renowned Ensemble Connect program.
- Aeolus Quartet

September 20, 2022: Aeolus Welcomes New Cellist Jia Kim
- Aeolus Quartet

September 14, 2022: Aeolus Quartet Reccomended on NPR “Greater Boston’s fall classical concerts”
- NPR Station WBUR

July 9, 2021: Aeolus Quartet Releases Album, ‘Many-Sided Music, Vol. 2: Ariel & Other Poems’
- Spotify

DUSKY LYRICISM FROM THE AEOLUS QUARTET
“Ricky Ian Gordon’s elegantly impassioned score drew dusky lyricism from the Aeolus Quartet, conducted here by Lidiya Yankovskaya.”
– Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times

AEOLUS QUARTET GIVES DYNAMIC CONCERT FOR MUSIC IN THE GREAT HALL
“What was most rewarding on Sunday was the way the Aelous Quartet combined smoothly meshed technique with a sense of spontaneity and discovery….

The Aelous players dug into the thorny work with admirable technical clarity, tonal vibrancy and, above all, an appreciation for the dark vein of lyricism running through it. The surging performance communicated richly at every turn.”
– Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun

AEOLUS QUARTET DELIVERS DIVINE DVORÁK; TESLA’S RAVEL SIMPLY PERFECT IN DAY THREE OF BANFF COMPETITION
“But perhaps it was Aeolus Quartet who produced the most unexpected performance of all: a highly intelligent, crisp, but deeply considered reading of Dvorák’s Quartet No. 14 in A-flat major, a difficult work to pull off on several different levels.

And what a pleasure it was to hear this piece so well performed and to hear Aeolus meet the interpretive, harmonic and formal challenges inherent in the work. The folkloric aspects in the suave and lovely Lento movement, the structural sophistication so typical of late Dvorák which Aeolus brushed aside with enviable ease, and especially the unstinting ensemble panache to exploit those darker chordal sonorities combined with a completely authentic presentation of the Czech folkloric and seemingly inexhaustible rhythmic ideas were all elements fully at the command of a masterful Aeolus Quartet. An overwhelming presentation, especially the ending to the fourth movement — froze me in my seat.”
– Stephan Bonfield, Calgary Herald

AEOLUS QUARTET GETS NEW ROCKY RIVER CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY YEAR OFF TO VIBRANT START
“Immediately evident, too, was the Aeolus Quartet’s fully formed personality. A rich and warm tone combined with precise ensemble playing (that managed also to come across as fluid and natural), and an impressive musical intelligence guided every technical and dramatic turn.”
– Mark Satola, Cleveland Plain Dealer

SAMPLING LINCOLN CENTER’S GREAT PERFORMERS WITH THE AEOLUS QUARTET
“Base camp seldom looked so bleak, or the journey more arduous, but the practically aching lustre of the payoff made everything worthwhile. The crowd didn’t know what hit them.”
– Delarue, New York Music Daily

PASSIONATE AEOLUS ON MUSIC MOUNTAIN
“Aeolus’ performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet no. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 (1827) offered the palpable treat of the afternoon…

The audience at august Gordon Hall was ecstatic, hypnotized, demanding a second bow, rising to their feet. While I had sensed slight nervous tension in the players at the opening of the performance, it was clear that they were glowing, relaxed, bathing in that extraordinary aura of something special well-achieved.”
– Kevin T. McEneaney, The Millbrook Independent

A DUAL HYMN TO THE MODERN IN QUARTET AND DANCE CONCERT AT FREER|SACKLER
“Though the musical selection ranged from sugary neo-tonality to more discordant asperities, the ensemble’s clean intonation and collaborative spirit showed everything in the best light. Dense, dissonant homophony in Akira Miyoshi’s String Quartet No. 3 (“Constellation in black”) was frenetic and strident, enlivened by contrapuntal lines on which each voice rocketed out of the tumult. Regular shifts of texture sustained interest until the piece evaporated in a mist of harmonics and ethereal notes.”
– Charles T. Downey, Washington Classical Review

SAMPLE PROGRAMS

Program I: Chiaroscuro
Paul Wiancko: LIFT
Schubert: Quartet in G Major D. 887

*Exploring the line where light and shadow meet, Wiancko’s exuberant, modern-day masterpiece LIFT is “an investigation of elation and journey of a soul.” The program is anchored by Schubert’s epically powerful G Major string quartet, at turns darkly brooding and impossibly joyful, the tension between the two unresolved and the music richer for it.

Program II: Where Love is Deep
Haydn: Quartet in C Major Op. 54 No. 2
Reena Esmail: Zeher
Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in e minor “From My Life”

*Connection and community have never been more important in art and in life. Reena Esmail’s dynamic work Zeher (“Poison”) encapsulates the composer’s hope for the world to “neutralize this disease [the pandemic] through a lot of compassion and love for one another,” her music at turns meandering and churning in two Hindustani raags. The Quartet Op. 54 No. 2 by Franz Joseph Haydn is a fiery and deep work written with the intent to showcase the virtuosity of the violinist Johann Tost, a loyal friend who took responsibility for ensuring the publication of Haydn’s Op. 54 and Op. 55 quartets. Smetana’s intensely personal Quartet No. 1 “From My Life” closes the program. Dedicating the sublime slow movement to his wife, Smetana wrote that his choice of instrumentation held special significance: “...the aim of the work, which is almost intimate… is why it is written purposely for four instruments, as though in a small friendly circle they are discussing among themselves what so obviously troubles me. That’s all.”

Program III: Joys and Sorrows
Beethoven: 18/6
Shaw: Blueprint
Smetana: Quartet No. 1 in e minor “From My Life”
or
Dvořák: Quartet in G Major No. 13, Op. 106

*This program is about our human life– joys and sorrows, the dark and light, conflict and triumph! Experience the endless invention, poignancy, mystery, and brilliance of these masterpieces with the pairing of Beethoven’s 18/6 and Carline Shaw’s Blueprint which has direct quotations from 18/6, finishing the program with “From My Life”, Smetana’s quartet which the composer himself said to be a tone picture of his life.

*Updated January 2024