Osvaldo Golijov; Pēteris Vasks - Encounter (Arethusa Quartet; Chen Halevi)

Information

Composer: Osvaldo Golijov; Pēteris Vasks

• Golijov - The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind
• Vasks - String Quartet No. 6

Arethusa Quartet

    Daniel Rowland, violin

    Floor Le Coultre, violin

    Dana Zemtsov, viola

    Maja Bogdanović, cello

&

Chen Halevi, clarinet

Date: 2026

Label: Challenge Classics

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Encounter unites two major contemporary chamber works that explore memory, spirituality, and transcendence across distinct cultural traditions. Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, inspired by Jewish mysticism, and Pēteris Vasks’s String Quartet No. 6, rooted in Baltic spirituality, are brought together in a dialogue of longing, suffering, hope, and inner illumination. Performed by the Arethusa Quartet with clarinetist Chen Halevi, the recording balances emotional intensity with moments of stillness and reflection. Golijov’s ritual-like musical language and Vasks’ meditative, deeply personal writing complement one another to create an intimate yet universal listening experience that highlights music’s enduring power to connect cultures, histories, and human emotions.

Arethusa Quartet, founded in 2023, is an international chamber ensemble uniting four distinguished musicians—Daniel Rowland, Floor Le Coultre, Dana Zemtsov, and Maja Bogdanovic—who combine solo careers with experience in leading chamber groups. Emerging from shared festival collaborations and artistic affinity, the quartet quickly established an identity defined by immediacy, imagination, and expressive intensity. Strong advocates of contemporary music, they have already collaborated with composers such as Pēteris Vasks and Osvaldo Golijov. Their name references the myth of Arethusa and reflects a guiding aesthetic of elusive beauty and artistic longing, inspired by themes of transformation and unattainable expression found in works like The Fountain of Arethusa by Karol Szymanowski.

Chen Halevi is an internationally acclaimed clarinet virtuoso whose career began with a sensational teenage debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Trained in Israel and deeply rooted in both solo and chamber traditions, he has developed a wide-ranging artistic profile spanning classical, contemporary, and historically informed performance. Halevi has appeared as soloist with major orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and is especially noted for his advocacy of contemporary music by composers such as György Kurtág, Pierre Boulez, and Osvaldo Golijov. A sought-after chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading ensembles and artists globally, while also holding influential teaching positions, helping shape modern clarinet performance practice internationally.

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