Calgary Herald
April 3, 2017
by Kenneth Delong
Fresh off Juno Award win, New Orford String Quartet demonstrate musical mastery
The Quartet itself was on something of a high, having just won the 2017 Juno Award for the Best Solo or Chamber Recording for their recent recording of two Brahms string quartets. And if this wasn’t enough, there was added musical fire power in the presence of two distinguished guests: violinist Cho-Liang Lin and pianist Orion Weiss.
The all-French program included only one work that could be called generally familiar—the String Quartet in G minor by Debussy. It also included a little played late Sonata for Violin and Piano by Maurice Ravel, as well as the Concerto for Piano, Violin, and String Quartet by Ernest Chausson, the last being principal reason for the assembling of this group of players.
Edmonton Journal
April 2, 2017
by Mark Morris
Juno-winning New Orford String Quartet at the forefront of chamber music
The Juno is just another feather in the cap of a string quartet that is at the forefront of chamber music playing in Canada. Their antecedents were perhaps the most famous Canadian string quartet of all time, the original Orford Quartet, which was active from 1965 to 1991. They recorded extensively, and performed around the world, including in the USSR, at the Montreal Olympics, and in Expo 67.
The New Orford was formed in 2009 by principal players from the Montreal and Toronto Symphony orchestras, where, rather astonishingly, they still play. Professional string quartets – let alone ones of this calibre – usually devote their entire time to their string quartets.
Chicago Tribune
January 9, 2017
by Alan G. Artner
Orford Quartet a strong start to Winter Chamber Music fest
Two years ago the New Orford String Quartet, made up of principal players of the Montreal and Toronto Symphony orchestras, opened Northwestern University's Winter Chamber Music Festival by making one of the most satisfying local debuts of recent times.
Sunday night the 8-year-old ensemble returned to Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston to begin the 2017 edition of the festival, again bringing tried-and-true programming and sterling interpretation.