Uncovered, Vol. 2: Florence B. Price Catalyst Quartet

• Florence Price (1887 - 1953): Piano Quintet in A Minor:
• 1 Price: Piano Quintet in A Minor: I. Allegro non troppo 13:59
• 2 Price: Piano Quintet in A Minor: II. Andante con moto 06:16
• 3 Price: Piano Quintet in A Minor: III. Juba 03:46
• 4 Price: Piano Quintet in A Minor: IV. Scherzo 02:56
• Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet:
• 5 Price: Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 1, Go Down Moses 05:14
• 6 Price: Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 2, Somebody's Knockin' At Yo Do' 04:29
• 7 Price: Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 3, Little David Play On Yo' Harp 01:39
• 8 Price: Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 4, Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho 01:41
• String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor:
• 9 Price: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor: I. Moderato 15:07
• 10 Price: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor: II. Andante cantabile 06:32
• 11 Price: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor: III. Juba 04:25
• 12 Price: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor: IV. Finale 05:45
• 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet:
• 13 Price: 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 1, Calvary 05:10
• 14 Price: 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 2, Oh My Darlin' Clementine 02:42
• 15 Price: 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 3, Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes 04:46
• 16 Price: 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 4, Shortnin' Bread 01:27
• 17 Price: 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet: No. 5, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 06:04
• String Quartet in G Major (Unfinished):
• 18 Price: String Quartet in G Major (Unfinished): I. Allegro 09:23
• 19 Price: String Quartet in G Major (Unfinished): II. Andante moderato 06:51
• Piano Quintet in E Minor:
• 20 Price: Piano Quintet in E Minor: I. Allegro moderato 03:30
• 21 Price: Piano Quintet in E Minor: II. Andante 03:03
• 22 Price: Piano Quintet in E Minor: III. Allegretto 02:07
• Total Runtime 01:56:52

Info for Uncovered, Vol. 2: Florence B. Price

GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet releases UNCOVERED Volume 2: Florence B. Price on Azica Records. The digital album is the second issue of a multi-volume anthology highlighting string quartet works by historically important Black composers which aims to bring greater awareness and programming of their music. Volume 2 is entirely devoted to the six known string quartet and piano quintet works of composer Florence B. Price – including four world premiere recordings – performed with pianist Michelle Cann, recipient of the 2021 Price Award.

The album consists of four string quartets, three of which have never been recorded, and two piano quintets, one of which has never been recorded, including Price’s Quintet in A minor for Piano and Strings; Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet; String Quartet in A minor; Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet; and her unfinished String Quartet in G Major and Quintet for Piano and Strings.

In the words of the Catalyst Quartet, “Price faced extreme obstacles in her lifetime, however her compositional output is vast despite the many barriers placed in her path. The six works in UNCOVERED Vol. 2 highlight her most productive years and unique cultural identity. Her experience as a Black woman displaced because of the deep racism of the Jim Crow south; a wife and mother fleeing from an abusive husband; a prodigious organ student at the New England Conservatory; and as an important contributor to the great Chicago Renaissance between 1935 and 1950, where she associated with icons such as Langston Hughes, Marion Anderson, and Margaret Bonds; shaping her body of work while contributing authentically to American music in its depth and beauty. The works on this album are a powerful reminder that America’s romantic classical vernacular, as prophesied by Dvorak, owes an incredible amount to the voices history has overlooked and suppressed.”

Catalyst Quartet
Michelle Cann, piano

The Catalyst Quartet
Hailed by the New York Times at their Carnegie Hall debut as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor” the Catalyst Quartet, prize winners of the Gianni Bergamo Classical Music Award 2012 (Switzerland) is comprised of top Laureates and alumni of the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Competition.

Known for “rhythmic energy, polyphonic clarity and tight ensemble-playing” (New York Concert Review). The quartet has toured domestically and abroad including sold out performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Chicago’s Harris Theater, the Frank Gehry designed New World Center in Miami, and Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium), to name a few. They have also appeared on multiple radio and television broadcasts such as American Public Media’s Performance Today, Chicago (WFMT), Houston (KUHF), Seattle (KING FM), Vermont Public Radio, Detroit Public Television; and have contributed to online and print media including The Strad and Strings magazine.

The Catalyst Quartet has held residencies and given master classes at institutions such as the University of Washington, University of Michigan, Rice University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, In Harmony Project (UK), Pennsylvania State University, and the University of South Africa. They also serve as principal faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Oberlin College and Roosevelt University. The Quartet has been guest artists at Festival del Sole, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Sitka Music Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics, the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Strings Music Festival, and the Grand Canyon Music Festival.

The Catalyst Quartet’s debut album, The Bach/Gould Project, featuring their own arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Glenn Gould’s String Quartet can be found on the Azica Records label. They are also featured on the album STRUM, the string works of quartet violinist Jessie Montgomery (available fall 2015).

This album contains no booklet.