WHAT IS AMERICAN | THE ARTS FUSE

Classical Music Commentary: Top Classical Performances and Recordings of 2022

DECEMBER 15, 2022

By Jonathan Blumhofer

Antonin Dvorak’s admonition for American composers to draw on Black vernacular musical forms has gotten fresh attention of late (thanks, in part, to Joseph Horowitz’s 2021 book on the subject). It’s certainly been discussed in concert booklets over the years, but few musical programs actually deliver so revealingly as this disc from the PUBLIQuartet, which blends arrangements of songs, original compositions, and, most provocatively, a brilliant improvisation on Dvorak’s evergreen “American” String Quartet.