For the Record, Op. 192: Ani and Marta Aznavoorian Duo; Ilya Gringolts Quartet

By Laurie Niles: Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!Gems from Armenia The Aznavoorian DuoAni Aznavoorian, celloMarta Aznavoorian, piano

Chicago-based sisters Ani and Marta Aznavoorian celebrate their ancestral homeland in their debut duo album, which features Armenian classical music by composers Komitas Vartabed, Aram Khachaturian, Arno Babajanian, and Avet Terterian; contemporary Armenian composers Serouj Kradjian, Alexander Arutiunian, and Vache Sharafyan; and the world premiere recording of a new piece by Peter Boyer. "The idea for this CD sprung out of gratitude to the proud and soulful people of Armenia and our homage to the historical challenges they have overcome and continue to engage with," said Marta. The new piece by Boyer, 'Mount Ararat,' was composed for the Aznavoorian Duo especially for this project. BELOW: Trailer from the album.

Schoenberg: String Quartets 1 & 3 Gringolts Quartet Ilya Gringolts, violin Anahit Kurtikyan, violin Silvia Simionescu, viola Claudius Herrmann, cello

Arnold Schoenberg’s second string quartet – composed in 1907 and included on a previous release by the Gringolts Quartet– is often used as a reference point for the emergence of atonality. It was composed three years after his first quartet, String Quartet in D minor, Op. 7, a work which still has much in common with the Late Romantic idiom of Richard Strauss. Some 20 years later, after Schoenberg had developed his twelve-tone method, he wrote his Third Quartet, which combines his new ideas with a tradition form. BELOW: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30: III. Intermezzo. Allegro moderato

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our Thursday "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.You might also like:

• For the Record, Op. 191: Manchester Collective; Gottfried von der Goltz; casalQuartett
• For the Record, Op. 190: Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax; Coco Tomita; Alina Ibragimova
• For the Record, Op. 189: Cellist Matt Haimovitz; Sherban Lupu