The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, having been labeled by The New Yorker as “furiously committed” and noted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for its “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity.” For over twenty-five years the Quartet has performed throughout the world on the most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, TX, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music. In their 2022-23 season, the Miró premieres a new work entitled Microfictions written for them by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. The work has been commissioned for the quartet by an impressive consortium of presenting organizations including Carnegie Hall, Shriver Hall, the La Jolla Music Society, Premiere Performances (Hong Kong), and Chamber Music Houston. The Miró is also partnering with renowned soprano Karen Slack in a new program exploring the works of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds. The Miró Quartet took its name and its inspiration from the Spanish artist Joan Miró, whose Surrealist works — with subject matter drawn from the realm of memory, dreams, and imaginative fantasy — are some of the most groundbreaking, influential, and admired of the 20th century. Visit miroquartet.com for more information.
Winner of both Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Avery Fisher Prize, David Shifrin is in constant demand as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator and educator. A member of the faculty at the Yale School of Music where he is also the Artistic Director of the school’s annual concert series at Carnegie Hall, Mr. Shifrin served as the Principal Clarinetist with a number of prestigious American orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra and American Symphony Orchestra. A much sought-after chamber musician, he served as the Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for 12 seasons as well as Artistic Director of Portland Oregon’s Chamber Music Northwest from its inception in 1981 to 2020. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Phoenix Chamber Music Society and has also collaborated with such distinguished ensembles as the Guarneri, Tokyo, Emerson and Orion String Quartets.
A prolific recording artist, David Shifrin has recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon, Angel/EMI,SONY, BMG and Delos labels.