Telegraph Quartet featuring Abigail Fischer - Contrapassos (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Wave upon Wave: I. Relentless
02. Wave upon Wave: Interlude I. Adagio espressivo
03. Wave upon Wave: II. Eighth Noth = 104
04. Wave upon Wave: III. Rapido
05. Wave upon Wave: Interlude II. Appassionata
06. Wave upon Wave: IV. Quarter Note = 72
07. Contrapassos: I. Dreamlike
08. Contrapassos: II. Quarter Note = 76
09. Contrapassos: III. Quarter Note = 104 - IV. Quarter Note = 60
10. Contrapassos: V. Tempo giusto, Dirgelike - VI. Quarter Note = 96
11. Contrapassos: VII. Quarter Note = 104
12. Contrapassos: VIII. Quarter Note = 80

Two of Robert Sirota’s chamber works, Contrapassos for String Quartet and Soprano (2019) and String Quartet No. 3, Wave Upon Wave (2018), will be released on August 28, 2026 on a new album on Azica Records. This is the eleventh album featuring Sirota’s music, and his second for Azica, following the release of 212: Symphony No. 1 earlier this year. Contrapassos, which was commissioned by the Sierra Chamber Society and includes text by Stevan Cavalier, is performed by the Telegraph Quartet with soprano Abigail Fischer. Wave Upon Wave is performed by the Telegraph Quartet.

Over five decades, Robert Sirota has developed a distinctive voice, clearly discernible in all of his work – whether symphonic, choral, stage, or chamber music. Writing in the Portland Press Herald, Allan Kozinn asserts: “Sirota’s musical language is personal and undogmatic, in the sense that instead of aligning himself with any of the competing contemporary styles, he follows his own internal musical compass.”

Sirota states: “Collaborating with the Telegraph Quartet and Abigail Fischer in the creation of these works has been a deeply rewarding and satisfying experience. After several years of delay, I am delighted that this recording is now a reality.”

Robert Sirota composed his third string quartet, Wave Upon Wave, in 2017. Commissioned by the Naumburg Foundation, the award-winning Telegraph Quartet gave the world premiere in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2018. Wave Upon Wave is the third work in a trilogy that Sirota began with his first string quartet, Triptych, in 2002. Sirota describes all three quartets as “a long journal entry reflecting a response to our times,” with Wave Upon Wave focusing on “our fears, our hopes, and our prayers that we will triumph over the forces of darkness which threaten to overwhelm us,” writes Sirota in his program notes. Of the sold out world premiere performance at Carnegie Hall, New York Daily Music described the work as, “chillingly cinematic.” The San Francisco Classical Voice described Wave Upon Wave as being shaped by a “variety of moods” and “heartbeat rhythms” throughout the work’s movements.

In 2019 Sirota composed Contrapassos. Due to the pandemic lockdown, the performance date endured almost as many changes as the music itself, which is inspired by the imagery of Dante. After several postponements of the initial 2020 world premiere, the Telegraph Quartet and soprano Abigail Fischer were finally able to come together and give the highly anticipated world premiere in July 2022.

“[Contrapassos] begins with memories of the quotidian joys of childhood, quickly turning to darkness and thoughts of early death by suicide, heart attacks in middle age, and final judgment,” says Sirota. “And yet throughout, there is the vigorous embrace of abundant life, of the beauty of our world, and of our striving for faith.” In performance, Contrapassos reflects a seamless collaboration between poetry, vocal, and instrumental music. 

Robert Sirota’s works have been performed by orchestras across the US and Europe; ensembles such as The Cecilia Chorus of New York, Alarm Will Sound, Sequitur, yMusic, Chameleon Arts, and Dinosaur Annex; the Chiara, American, Telegraph, and Blair String Quartets; the Neave, Peabody, Concord, and Webster Trios; and at festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, Yellow Barn, and Cooperstown music festivals; Bowdoin Gamper and Bowdoin International Music Festival; and Mizzou International Composers Festival. Commissions for Sirota@70 in honor of his 70th birthday included works for Thomas Pellaton, Carol Wincenc, Linda Chesis & the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival, and Sierra Chamber Society.

Additional recent commissions include the music for Rising, an evening-length dance collaboration with choreographer Gabrielle Lamb, Pigeonwing Dance, and the Neave Trio; A Migrant’s Dream, a choral work commissioned by Judith Clurman for Essential Voices USA; Sirota’s third string quartet, Wave Upon Wave for the Naumburg Foundation; his fourth string quartet Contrapassos for the Sierra Chamber Society, Immigrant Songs for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine; Luminous Bodies performed by Jeffrey Kahane and yMusic at the Sarasota Music Festival; Hafez Songs for Palladium Musicum; O Blessed Holy Trinity for choir and organ, for Trinity Episcopal Church, Indianapolis; and his Cello Sonata No. 2, for Benjamin Larsen and Hyungjin Choi. Sirota’s arrangements of songs for Paul Simon and yMusic were performed on Simon’s farewell tour, including an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Sirota is a recipient of grants from the Guggenheim and Watson Foundations, United States Information Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and the American Music Center. His works are recorded on Navona Records, Legacy Recordings, National Sawdust Tracks, and the Capstone, Albany, New Voice, Gasparo and Crystal labels. His music is published by Muzzy Ridge Music, Hal Leonard, MorningStar, Theodore Presser, and To the Fore.

Before becoming Director of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in 1995, Sirota served as Chairman of the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University and Director of Boston University's School of Music. From 2005-2012, he was the President of Manhattan School of Music, where he was also a member of the School’s composition faculty.

A native New Yorker, Sirota studied at Juilliard, Oberlin, and Harvard and divides his time between New York and Searsmont, Maine with his wife, Episcopal priest and organist Victoria Sirota. They frequently collaborate on new works, with Victoria as librettist and performer, at times also working with their children, Jonah and Nadia, both world-class violists.