See what media have to say about the ARC Ensemble
"In an already illuminating series covering music not so much forgotten as never noticed and/or willingly repressed, this may just be the best album yet [...] It is an agile, clear-sighted, harmonically interesting and tightly argued piece that gets a marinated, stylish performance from the Canadian ensemble whose marriage of technique with considered expression is exceptional."
Andrew Mellor – The Strad
"The ARC Ensemble brings forgotten composers back from the musical dead."
William Littler – Toronto Star
"The ARC Ensemble combines teachers and students of the prestigious [Glenn Gould School] and has worked for many years on the commendable task of saving the music of ostracized and banned composers from oblivion. The international reputation of the ensemble has spread through its artistic skill as well as the quality of the repertoire and its work with renowned musicians. But above all, there is the joy of discovery [...] "
Werner Theurich – Der Spiegel
"As a point of departure, I would recommend a superb disc of Weinberg’s Clarinet Sonata, “Jewish Songs,” and Piano Quintet, with members of the ARC Ensemble."
Alex Ross – The New Yorker
"The ARC Ensemble plays each piece with the kind of passionate conviction that its immediacy of expression demands. While the two string quartets show the evolution of Klebanov’s style most graphically, the Second Piano Trio is the major work here: thirty minutes of magnificently sustained musical discourse illuminated by captivating instrumental textures in this beautifully balanced interpretation."
David Hurwitz – Classics Today
"This work is worth several hearings, as it is emotionally charged and mysteriously beautiful by turns, casting a distinct mood that lingers after the final bars."
Gary Higginson – MusicWeb International
"The ARC players gave a reading of febrile intensity to Walter Braunfels's extraordinary F-sharp-minor String Quintet [...] an enthralling mix of Straussian tumult, Shostakovich-like bleakness and extreme, Mahlerian mood swings that riveted the audience's attention."
Joe Banno –The Washington Post
On the ARC Ensemble’s EXIT:MUSIC documentary:
"A compelling Canadian documentary [...] offers generous segments of music, beautifully played by musicians from the Royal Conservatory in Toronto."
Leon Botstein – Musical Quarterly
"ARC Ensemble’s “Chamber Works by Dmitri Klebanov,” is listed in the ‘Fall 2021 guide: 27 albums you need to hear.’ This new release comprises the world premiere recording of three of Klebanov's chamber works."
Robert Rowat – CBC Music
"It is the ARC Ensemble's hope that these sublime works, works that transcend their own time and place, find their way into the concert hall, and that they join 'the canon of 20th century masterworks'. The ensemble achieved this goal on Saturday night. And through this, Dachau became a musical place of learning."
Karl Adolf Gottwald –Süddeutsche Zeitung
Frederick Block Album Reviews
Robert Müller-Hartmann Album Reviews
Alberto Hemsi Album Reviews
Dmitri Klebanov Album Reviews
Walter Kauffman Album Reviews